Iowa City man accused of selling drugs in undercover operation

Hunter
09/16/23

An Iowa City man not unfamiliar to law enforcement was arrested after allegedly selling drugs to an undercover officer earlier this month.

The controlled purchases reportedly took place on two separate occasions.  45-year-old Lavail Drain of East Bloomington Street allegedly sold a bag of crack cocaine the afternoon of August 27th not far from his residence. Another buy was reportedly made on September 2nd at the same location. In both instances, Drain sold less than 40 grams of the substance.

Drain was already wanted on a warrant for Child Endangerment from an incident that took place August 13th. According to police, he left his two year old child sleeping inside his residence while he attempted to do a drug transaction.  When officers confronted Drain, he allegedly swallowed the drug.

Drain faces two Controlled Substance violations and a Child Endangerment charge. If convicted on all three counts, he could be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison.

Over the past five years, Drain has been charged with several felonies and aggravated misdemeanors, including child endangerment, assault and controlled substance violations.