BOISE – James Thomas McNiff, 31, of Garden City, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. McNiff was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on February 10, 2021.
According to court records, McNiff, a known Norteno (Northside) gang associate, sold methamphetamine to another person in a parking lot in Meridian. McNiff sold 12.65 grams of a substance that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) laboratory later confirmed was actual methamphetamine.
McNiff faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years and a maximum sentence of forty years in federal prison, a five million dollar fine, and at least four years of supervised release. Sentencing is set for November 16, 2021, before Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye at the federal courthouse in Boise.
Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez applauded the efforts of the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force which led to the charges. The Task Force is comprised of federal, state, and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Boise Police Department, Caldwell Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; Meridian Police Department; Nampa Police Department; and Idaho Department of Correction, Bureau of Probation and Parole. The DEA forensic laboratory was credited with analyzing the methamphetamine.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit www.treasurevalleypartners.org.
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