Dyersville Woman Sentenced for Participating in Fatal Cocaine Trafficking

A Dyersville woman was sentenced on Thursday for participating in cocaine trafficking.

30-year old Whitaker Jo Ingles was involved in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, in which a young woman died from using cocaine distributed by the conspirators. 

Ingles pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine between 2019 and February 17, 2021, near Madison Park in Dubuque.

At the guilty plea and sentencing, Ingles admitted she was a member of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Dubuque area. She helped get the cocaine from the individual who brought it from Chicago, and then worked with others to distribute the cocaine to customers in Dubuque. On February 14, 2021, one of her partners distributed cocaine to a young woman in Dubuque who went home, used the cocaine and died.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Ingles to more than nine years in federal prison in Cedar Rapids. She was also ordered to make nearly $14,000 in restitution to the victim’s family and must serve an eight-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  

Ingles is being held in the U.S. Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.