Payette Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

BOISE –  John Vernon McLeod, 36, of Payette, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered McLeod to forfeit $1,600 in drug proceeds.  McLeod pleaded guilty on April 26, 2016. 

According to evidence presented in court, McLeod and co-defendant Ross Eugene Miller, 30, of Fruitland, Idaho, conspired to distribute methamphetamine in the state of Idaho between May 28, 2015, and June 18, 2015.  McLeod and Miller arranged for two separate deliveries of methamphetamine in the Payette and Fruitland, Idaho, area.  Investigating officers discovered the conspiracy and were able to intervene.    Miller was sentenced on March 7, 2016, to 36 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy. 

The case was investigated by the High Desert Task Force, a collaboration of law enforcement agencies from Payette County Sheriff’s Office, Payette Police Department, Fruitland Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Weiser Police Department, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, Ontario Police Department, and the Nyssa Police Department. 

The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board.  The Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board is a collaboration of local law enforcement drug task forces and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada, Canyon, and Malheur County.