No federal prison in heroin case

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Chicago man convicted of distributing heroin, who tried to stash heroin in a police station toilet after he was arrested, was sentenced Wednesday to nine months in federal prison.

But since Julius Montgomery Jr., 48, has been in jail awaiting trial since March, U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade ruled he had served his time.

Reade ordered Montgomery to serve three years of supervised release.

Montgomery pleaded guilty in May to possession with intent to distribute heroin.

He was a passenger in a car when Drug Enforcement Administration agents conducted a controlled buy of heroin in November 2015.

When Montgomery was taken to the Cedar Rapids Police Department for questioning, an officer noticed Montgomery, as he stood up, was 'tightly clenching his buttocks.'

When Montgomery asked to use a bathroom, investigators took him to a bathroom equipped with a toilet designed for prisoners that can be flushed only from an exterior location.

The toilet was searched before Montgomery used it and after, when investigators found a bag in the toilet water that contained 23 packets of heroin.

The plea agreement said Montgomery started selling heroin in 2014 and that DEA agents had conducted a controlled buy of heroin from him Dec. 9-10, 2014, in addition to the November 2015 bust.

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