BOISE – Darin Lee Meeks, 50, of Garden City, was sentenced to six years in federal prison based upon his March 2021 guilty plea to distribution of methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. Meeks was indicted on the charge by a federal grand jury on June 10, 2020.

According to court records, Meeks is a known associate of the Severely Violent Criminals (SVC) and Aryan Knights (AK) prison gangs. On August 13, 2018, Meeks arranged for an ounce of methamphetamine to be distributed at a park in Nampa. Unknown to Meeks at the time, the buyer was a confidential informant who was working at the direction of the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force. Later, on November 15, 2019, Meeks again arranged and personally distributed an ounce of methamphetamine to a confidential informant.

Meeks has an extensive criminal history involving crimes of violence and drugs including felony convictions for aggravated assault in 2003, burglary in 1997, and possession of controlled substances in 2010. After serving his prison sentence, Meeks will be on supervised release with the United States Probation Office for four years.

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez credited the cooperative efforts of the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Correction Probation and Parole, which led to charges.

This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit www.treasurevalleypartners.org.