A 34-year-old resident of Leslie, Michigan, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today.

Joined in the announcement was FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel Roberts.

Matthew Tyler was found guilty on April 4, 2006, by a federal court jury in Bay City of being a member of a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 or more grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. The sentence was imposed by Federal District Court Judge David M. Lawson.

The evidence presented by the government during the trial indicated that Tyler and others obtained significant quantities of methamphetamine that had been manufactured in Mexico and distributed the methamphetamine in Michigan and South Carolina between approximately 1995 and 2004.

U.S. Attorney Murphy thanked the FBI, the Flint Police Department and the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (BAYANET) for their assistance in the successful investigation of the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hluchaniuk who was assisted during the trial by FBI Special Agent John Cecil.