Presque Isle Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine

BANGOR, Maine: A Presque Isle man was sentenced in federal court today for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.

U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Joel Strother, a/k/a “Jody,” 42, to 27 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Strother pleaded guilty in January 2021.

According to court records, between approximately July 2018 and May 2019, Strother and other members of the conspiracy obtained methamphetamine in western and southern states from sources in Mexico. Strother personally made trips to Georgia, Arizona, California and Mexico and obtained methamphetamine. He also recruited and directed others to participate in similar trips.  Once Strother and his co-conspirators transported the methamphetamine back to Maine, they distributed the drugs in Aroostook County and other parts of central and northern Maine. Strother also recruited and directed others to distribute the drugs.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency investigated this case with the assistance of multiple state and local law enforcement agencies. 

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.