United States of America v. Shawn Zak

Sioux City, Iowa, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substance and unlawful transportation of a firearm.

Shawn Zak, 32, from Carroll, Iowa, admitted that from June 2025 through September 2025, he and others conspired to distribute more than 1500 grams of methamphetamine in the Carroll, Iowa, area. On September 11, 2025, Zak was approached by law enforcement based on an active warrant for his arrest. At the time Zak provided a false name to officers and he was arrested. During his arrest, Zak had a brief, physical struggle with law enforcement. Law enforcement seized 53.19 grams of pure methamphetamine, some marijuana, .22 caliber ammunition, indicia of drug dealing including baggies, syringes, and scale weights from the vehicle. Zak admitted he planned to distribute the methamphetamine to others. Law enforcement later recovered a .22 caliber handgun which Zak possessed in the vehicle in which he was stopped. Zak further admitted he received the .22 caliber handgun from another person earlier in September 2025.

Zak was previously convicted of burglary in January 2023 in Iowa and criminal trespass in Pennsylvania in 2017. The felony convictions prohibited Zak from possessing a firearm.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Zak remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Zak faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Iowa DCI Laboratory.

The Defendant elected to plead guilty.