MISSOULA—A Spokane man accused of bringing pound quantities of methamphetamine to Missoula for distribution was sentenced today to 10 years and one month in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Donald Shawn Gilbrech, 51, pleaded guilty in July to possession with intent to distribute meth.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

In court records filed in the case, the prosecution said that in February, a confidential informant stored a backpack containing meth at Gilbrech’s request. The informant consented to a search of the backpack and law enforcement recovered almost four pounds of meth. Four pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 14,496 doses. Another informant told law enforcement that Gilbrech was a meth distributor and had delivered more than one pound of meth to Missoula in the summer of 2018.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the Montana Regional Violent Crimes Task Force.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

XXX