Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BOISE – David Paul Roberts, 60, of Twin Falls, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and a concurrent sentence of 120 months in prison for the theft of firearms, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Roberts to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Roberts pleaded guilty to both charges on October 1, 2019.

According to court records, Roberts and others conspired to distribute over 15 kilograms of methamphetamine into the Twin Falls area. He also recruited others to help him steal over 100 firearms, ammunition, and other property from a ranch in Gooding, Idaho. Investigators conducted an extensive investigation of Roberts and his co-conspirators, including using a wiretap to intercept phone calls and text messages between Roberts and others. On December 10, 2018, investigators arrested Roberts as he returned to Idaho from California in possession of over 12 pounds of methamphetamine. Investigators worked hard to recover the stolen firearms. To date, however, only 20 of the guns have been recovered. Roberts has a lengthy criminal history including felony convictions for burglary, aggravated assault, and delivery of methamphetamine.

This case was the result of a long-term investigation by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Idaho State Police, Twin Falls Police Department, Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office, and Gooding County Sheriff’s Office.

This indictment was the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multijurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. Program participants include Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and U.S. Marshals Service.

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