Penitentiary Inmate Sentenced in Federal Case for Role in Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy

United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that on August 15, 2019 Chief United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Dustin Pauly to a term of imprisonment of 262 months, to be served concurrently to an undischarged term of imprisonment in an unrelated state case.  Pauly, 32, of Kearney, Nebraska, pleaded guilty earlier in federal court to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

In January 2019, investigators received information from the Nebraska State Penitentiary regarding drug activity involving Pauly, who was then an inmate at the Penitentiary.  Investigators determined that Pauly helped coordinate the delivery of a parcel containing several pounds of methamphetamine to Hannah Pauly’s residence in Kearney.  Investigators obtained a warrant to search the residence and recovered five bundles of methamphetamine in varying quantities, totaling close to five pounds.  Hannah Pauly and her roommate, Jose Santos-Zepeda, were arrested and charged in the case. 

The case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Kearney Police Department, and the Central Nebraska Drug and Safe Streets Task Force.