Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula, on December 17, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, MATTHEW GREGORIAN, a 31-year-old resident of Modesto, California, appeared for sentencing. GREGORIAN was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 37 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 5 years

GREGORIAN was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On April 13, 2006, GREGORIAN and W.S. flew from Sacramento, California to Kalispell. The purpose of the trip was for GREGORIAN to supervise a cocaine sale. As GREGORIAN and W.S. were flying, T.P. was traveling by car to Kalispell with 7.5 pounds of cocaine at GREGORIAN'S request. The understanding was that once in Kalispell, the cocaine would be delivered and sold to M.D.

Upon arriving, all four individuals met up at a motel in the area and then went to M.D.'s residence. At the residence, GREGORIAN retrieved the cocaine from the door panels of the car and M.D. took the cocaine. GREGORIAN and W.S. boarded a return flight to California the next day.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that GREGORIAN will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, GREGORIAN does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

 

Return to Top