North Liberty man faces 24 charges for pseudoephedrine purchases

UPDATED Jan. 24, 2012: Twenty-three of the below charges were dismissed as part of an agreement reached in November 2011. Hinkel pleaded guilty to a felony controlled substance violation and received a suspended 10-year prison sentence and suspended $1,000 fine. He was placed on probation for four years.

A North Liberty man faces 24 criminal charges after police say he admitted to buying pseudoephedrine and supplying it to methamphetamine manufacturers.

Chad A. Hinkel, 38, of 2257 Scales Bend Rd. NE, was arrested Feb. 14 after police were notified that he had exceeded the limit on pseudoephedrine purchases numerous times, using data from the state's new central registry system. According to a criminal complaint, Hinkel bought 327,600 miligrams from five local pharmacies between January 19, 2008 and January 2, 2011.

“The defendant admitted he obtained the pseudoephedrine to sell to others that were using it to manufacture methamphetamine,” according to the criminal complaint.

Hinkel faces one count of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, three counts of possession of precursors and 20 counts of violating pseudoephedrine restrictions. In Iowa, no one is allowed to purchase more than 7,500 milligrams of the drug within a 30-day period, but prosecutors allege that Hinkel did so in 15 out of 16 months through August 2010.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said police found Hinkel at his workplace in Cedar Rapids, and he voluntarily came in for questioning. He was allowed to sign a promise to appear in court and was not taken to jail, she said.