Rochester man sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine distribution
Dec. 9—ST. PAUL — A Rochester man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to 15 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine in Rochester and other communities in southeastern Minnesota.
Tyler Benjamin Batson, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank to 180 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.
Batson was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2020 on charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. A month later, Batson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute meth.
The possession charge was dismissed at sentencing Tuesday.
On March 4, 2020, Batson and a passenger were stopped by the Minnesota State Patrol. The pair were returning to Rochester in a rented vehicle from the Twin Cities area after meeting with Batson's meth supplier, according to a news release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.
"After a canine sniff of the vehicle, officers found a small black bag on the rear passenger side floorboard," the release read. "Inside the bag, the State Trooper recovered approximately two pounds of methamphetamine."
This case was a result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Rochester Police Department, the Southeast Drug and Violent Crime Task Force and the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office.
