POCATELLO -Marilee Taylor Love, 45, of Rexburg, Idaho, and Rodney Lewis Hall, 55, of Rigby, Idaho, were sentenced today for conspiring to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine, and unlawfully possessing and selling various firearms, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Love to 32 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Hall was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. They pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 30, 2013.
According to the plea agreements, Love and Hall sold methamphetamine to another person in Madison County, Idaho, three times between February 2011 and February 2012. During one of the sales, Love and Hall also sold the individual a.22 caliber pistol, a.22 caliber rifle, and a silencer not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. On another occasion, Love sold the same individual a.45 caliber pistol and a loaded magazine of ammunition. Love’s plea agreement states that she knew the individual who purchased the firearms was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year of prison.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
“Drug trafficking and firearms are a dangerous combination," said Olson. “Where guns are unlawfully transferred to persons prohibited by law from possessing them, federal law enforcement and its cooperating state and local partners will act swiftly and aggressively to ensure that those responsible are fully prosecuted."
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
