Susan T. Lehr, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced the sentencing of Merry Barbara Bills, a 42-year-old resident of Lincoln, Nebraska. On February 6, 2025, Bills received a sentence in federal court for possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine mixture and an unspecified amount of marijuana. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis handed down a sentence of 125 months’ imprisonment. Following her release, Bills will serve a five-year term of supervised release as there is no parole in the federal system.
The case began shortly before 1:00 am on November 26, 2023, when officers from the Lincoln Police Department responded to a convenience store after a clerk discovered a bag outside containing four breast milk bags filled with approximately 33 grams of meth each. The clerk described the couple associated with the bag and their vehicle to the police. Security footage revealed that Bills and a male companion arrived at the store shortly before midnight on November 25, 2023. Bills dropped the bag while exiting her car and later entered the store. The couple left about 20 minutes later without noticing the bag outside but returned roughly ten minutes later seemingly searching for something before leaving again.
Around 2:00 am on November 26, the clerk informed LPD that the couple had returned. Officers found Bills in the store restroom holding a bag containing approximately one ounce of meth; another bag was found on her person. Bills claimed all meth was hers for personal use, totaling around six ounces.
The Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force conducted the investigation into this case.
