Columbus Man Sentenced to 13 years in Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Bryan Groene, 33, of Columbus, Nebraska, was sentenced on December 5, 2014, to 13 years in prison by United States District Judge John M. Gerrard. Groene had previously pled guilty after an incident on January 19, 2014, when a police officer encountered him outside a Columbus residence.  The officer knew that Groene had an active warrant for his arrest.  Upon contact, Groene was informed of the arrest warrant at which time he ran from the officer.  The officer caught Groene after a short chase, but not before Groene discarded a plastic bag containing 6.41 grams of 88% pure methamphetamine.  Thereafter, investigators located additional witnesses who identified Groene as a multiple ounce methamphetamine distributor in the Columbus area dating back to September of 2013. After serving his sentence, Groene will be required to serve a Term of Supervised Release of 5 years.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Columbus Police Department and the Nebraska State Patrol.