Dodge County Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking, Firearms Violations

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Dodge County man was sentenced to 147 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and firearms violations, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, between May 2020 and January 2021, Matthew James Lyman, 48, received from his Mexico-based supplier multiple shipments of methamphetamine. Lyman coordinated and facilitated a methamphetamine distribution operation in Southern Minnesota, including collecting and sending drug proceeds back to his supplier in Mexico. During the course of the investigation, on January 17, 2021, law enforcement observed two money couriers leaving Lyman’s home. They were found to be in possession of approximately $119,000 in cash, an ounce of methamphetamine, and a loaded handgun. Later that same day, Lyman was stopped for a traffic violation and arrested for driving while intoxicated. During a search of Lyman’s vehicle, law enforcement recovered two firearms, three bricks of methamphetamine, and 3,500 M30 pills that contained fentanyl. Following his arrest, law enforcement recorded one of Lyman’s jail calls in which he directed an individual to recover more of his methamphetamine from an apartment in Rochester. Law enforcement searched the apartment and recovered approximately nine additional pounds of methamphetamine.

Lyman was sentenced on June 8, 2022, in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank. On July 30, 2021, Lyman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was the result of investigations conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Rochester Police Department, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, and the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter Jr. prosecuted the case.