Repeat offender sentenced to 188 months for drug distribution

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Repeat offender sentenced to 188 months for drug distribution

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Matthew R. Molsen United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska | U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska

Hannie Rice, a 67-year-old previously from Oakland, Nebraska, has been sentenced for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The announcement came from Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen. On April 16, 2025, United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Rice in a federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, to 188 months in prison. Following the prison term, Rice will serve a four-year supervised release. There is no parole available in the federal system.

The sentencing follows an investigation that began in January 2023, when a Burt County sheriff’s deputy received information from individuals in custody that Rice was distributing methamphetamine. On May 6, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Rice's residence in Oakland. Rice, after receiving his Miranda rights, admitted to the deputy that meth was located in his bedroom. The deputy, guided by Rice, found approximately 35 grams of meth within a lockbox in the bedroom.

Postal records revealed that since the fall of 2022, eight packages, each weighing between four ounces and four pounds seven ounces, had been sent from California to Rice's address. This corroborated the information provided by the arrestees, indicating that Rice was receiving shipments of up to three-pound packages of meth by mail from California.

Rice's advisory sentencing range was elevated due to prior convictions in California related to possessing meth and marijuana with the intent to sell.

The case involved the Burt County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in its investigation.

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