Illinois man sentenced for meth and heroin

An Illinois man was sentenced to more than 34 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin in Dubuque. 34-year-old Michael G. Denson, 34, recently was given the sentence in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a jury last year found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and one count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin. U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams ordered the prison sentence of 419 months and 18 days. Denson also must serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. Authorities observed Denson outside a Dubuque hotel on July 23, 2019, when he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Authorities stopped a car in which he was a passenger, and Denson got out and ran from investigators. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, investigators located six small baggies containing heroin near where Denson had been seated.