Charles City man pleads guilty to reduced meth charge

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man has pleaded guilty to a felony methamphetamine charge in return for the Floyd County Attorney’s Office reducing the severity of the charge and agreeing to not recommend against a request for a deferred judgment.

Derik Royce Evans, age 39, was arrested in December 2022 after allegedly being found with more than 29 grams of meth after a traffic stop and an alert by Floyd County’s K-9 drug dog.

According to documents filed in Floyd County District Court, Evans was stopped because his vehicle did not have tail lights. His driver’s license also was not valid, the report said.

Deputy Luke Chatfield, who is the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer, said that during the traffic stop he had “a reasonable suspicion” of drug use or drug activity, and deployed K-9 Sirius, who alerted on the vehicle. A search found a glass jar containing crystal substance and an eyeglasses case containing two plastic baggies containing crystal substance that were determined to contain methamphetamine.

Evans was initially charged with possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, a Class B felony with a maximum prison sentence of up to 25 years.

In return for the guilty plea, the county attorney’s office agreed to reduce the charge to manufacture, delivery or possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver a schedule II controlled substance (methamphetamine) a Class C felony, which has a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

The agreement also says the County Attorney’s Office will “stand silent on defendant’s request for a deferred judgment.”

A deferred judgment in Iowa means the defendant pleads guilty, but the judge defers judgment and sentencing and sets up conditions such as probation that the defendant must meet. If the defendant successfully completes all the conditions, the judge will dismiss the case and seal the records, meaning the defendant’s public record will not show the charges or a conviction.

District Court Judge Blake Norman held a plea hearing earlier this week and accepted Evans’ plea of guilty. He set sentencing for Nov. 27 and ordered Evans to submit to a substance abuse evaluation prior to sentencing.