Missoula man sentenced to prison in meth case

MISSOULA—Missoula resident William Perry Hobbs, who admitted distributing methamphetamine to support a heroin addiction, was sentenced to four years in federal prison and five years of supervised released today, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

Hobbs, 38, pleaded guilty earlier to possession with intent to distribute meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided at sentencing.

During an investigation, an undercover law enforcement officer bought meth from Hobbs three times, from March to May. The quantity of meth totaled more than 50 grams of actual meth. Fifty grams is the equivalent of 400 individual doses. In addition, evidence showed that an informant sometimes sold drugs with Hobbs. Hobbs also admitted he was a meth distributor in the Missoula area and distributed to support his heroin addiction.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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