Utah man who trafficked meth from camper on Fort Peck Indian Reservation sentenced to 10 years in prison

GREAT FALLS — A Utah man who towed a camper to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and trafficked methamphetamine in the community was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.

Andrew Michael Gomez, 33, of Ogden, Utah, pleaded guilty on Sept. 14, 2020 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

In court documents filed in the case, the prosecution said that Gomez, and his co-defendant, Jeffrey Allen Dabb, 39, of Ogden, Utah, towed a camper from Utah and rented a vacant lot on the reservation. In August 2019, a Wolf Point Police officer received information about drug activity on property where the camper was parked. The officer obtained a tribal search warrant to enter the property and seize the camper. Gomez, Dabb, and another individual were in the camper. Dabb said that they were in the area to work in the North Dakota oil fields and denied there was anything illegal in the camper.

During a search of the camper, law enforcement found more than 6.5 ounces of meth, drug ledgers, electronic money transfer receipts showing money wires to individuals in Utah, a set of brass knuckles with a built-in knife, scales, baggies and other drug paraphernalia.

Gomez attempted to further the meth trafficking conspiracy while incarcerated on state charges by urging individuals to recover and sell the drugs, which he thought were still hidden in the camper.

Dabb was convicted in the case and sentenced to 51 months in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Plaut prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Fort Peck Law Enforcement Services, Wolf Point Police Department and Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 48% from 2013 to 2019. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.

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