BANGOR, MAINE – A Presque Isle man pleaded guilty in federal court today to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.
According to court records, between July 2018 and May 2019, Joel Strother, a/k/a “Jody,” 41, 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 to obtain methamphetamine, and also recruited and directed others to participate in similar trips. Once they transported the methamphetamine back to Maine, Strother and his co-conspirators distributed the drugs in Aroostook County and other parts of central and northern Maine. Strother also recruited and directed others to distribute the drugs.
Strother faces between 10 years and life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million. He also faces between five years and a lifetime of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
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.
The prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.