News Release US Attorney's Office
Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Mitchell Ryan Pond, 39, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 23, 2021, in federal court in Lincoln for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture and 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, and for using a firearm during and in relation to that conspiracy. Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf sentenced Pond to 15 years of imprisonment for the conspiracy and a consecutive 5 years of imprisonment for the use of the firearm during and in relation to that conspiracy. There is no parole in the federal system. Pond was also sentenced to a 10-year term of supervised release.
As part of a narcotics investigation regarding Pond, law enforcement seized about 90 grams of actual methamphetamine attributable to him in April 2019. Thereafter, law enforcement obtained and executed a search warrant on Pond’s residence. Inside the residence, law enforcement found methamphetamine residue and a handgun. Law enforcement continued its investigation and found that between November 1, 2018 and July 10, 2019, Pond was responsible for the distribution of at least 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Lincoln area. Because Pond had previously been convicted under Nebraska state law of robbery for which he served more than 12-months’ imprisonment, he faced a 15-year mandatory-minimum sentence for the conspiracy conviction.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force.