MISSOULA - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana announces that Mark Irvin Roberts, 50, of Newport, Washington, was sentenced on June 4, 2015, to over six years in prison and to forfeit more than $278,000 in connection with his federal conviction for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Chief District Court Judge Dana Christensen sentenced Roberts to 78 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and $5,000 in restitution, in addition to forfeiting $278,370 in connection with the offense.
Roberts entered his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on Feb. 19, 2015. In an offer of proof, Assistant United States Attorney Tara Elliott told the Court that on February 5, 2013, two co-defendants went to Idaho and purchased two ounces of methamphetamine from Roberts. The co-defendants returned to Montana with the methamphetamine and were eventually apprehended. One of the co-defendants had been purchasing methamphetamine from Roberts for approximately six weeks. One of the co-defendants bought approximately eight ounces of methamphetamine from Roberts for redistribution in Montana.
On February 9, 2013, a deal was set up to purchase additional methamphetamine from Roberts. Roberts traveled to Montana to deliver the methamphetamine, but was intercepted by law enforcement. Three ounces of methamphetamine was recovered from Roberts. Laboratory analysis was conducted on the two ounces purchased from Roberts, and the results showed more than 50 grams of pure methamphetamine.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott and investigated by the Northwest Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
