Grand Island Woman Sentenced for Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute

Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Andrea Gall, 22, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to 10 years in federal prison for possessing 50 grams or more of actual or pure methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Following her prison term, Gall will serve five years on supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

On October 4, 2019, Jose Negrete was on probation and a state probation officer stopped by Andrea Gall’s and Negrete’s house in Grand Island to conduct a home inspection.  The probation officer observed a .22 caliber handgun.  Negrete first asserted that the gun was a toy, and later admitted it was a real firearm.  Negrete had been previously convicted of a felony offense and he is prohibited from possessing firearms.  The police obtained a search warrant. Inside the home, they found about $20,000 in United States currency and more than a pound of methamphetamine.  The methamphetamine was later sent to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office’s Forensic Services Bureau.  Testing completed by their laboratory showed that the drugs contained at least 514 grams of actual or pure methamphetamine.

Negrete pleaded guilty on August 26, 2021 to possessing 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and three counts of distribution of methamphetamine.  His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 19, 2021.  He faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and he could potentially face up to life imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the Central Nebraska Drug and Safe Streets Task Force, which is made up of officers from the Grand Island Police Department, Hall County Sheriff’s Department, Hastings Police Department, Adams County Sheriff’s Department, Kearney Police Department, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department, Nebraska State Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.