Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

MISSOULA, Mont. — A Missoula man, who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine after law enforcement found the drug in a backpack he had discarded, was sentenced on Monday to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

Robert Dean Spearson, 40, pleaded guilty in July to possession with intent to distribute meth.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

The government alleged in court documents that on Nov. 21, 2021, members of the Montana Violent Offenders Task Force attempted to arrest Spearson in Missoula. Spearson fled from officers and was found and arrested in an apartment. The apartment’s owner said Spearson has been in possession of a black backpack. Officers located the backpack and found approximately 77 grams of meth in separate baggies, a digital scale, empty small plastic baggies, a safe key, $660 cash, a laptop that listed Spearson as the user and empty holster was attached to the outside of the backpack.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer S. Clark prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Missoula Police Department conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.

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