A North Platte man has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. Michael W. Stroble, 32, received a sentence of 138 months on September 11, 2025, in Lincoln federal court. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis also ordered that Stroble serve five years of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods, Stroble was convicted of conspiring to distribute at least 50 grams of actual methamphetamine.
Between July 2022 and February 2023, Stroble worked with Joey Romero, Jamie Hopkins, Luke Schwartz, and others to sell methamphetamine in the North Platte area. The group distributed several pounds of the drug and was targeted by law enforcement through controlled purchases, search warrants, and arrests.
By January 2023, Stroble and Hopkins were living together and jointly selling methamphetamine. On January 17, a controlled buy involving Schwartz and Stroble took place less than half a mile from Hopkins’s home; another controlled buy occurred on January 30 at Hopkins’s residence with both Hopkins and Stroble participating.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Hopkins’s North Platte home on February 7, finding multiple baggies of methamphetamine located throughout the house—including on furniture and in the toilet—as well as drug paraphernalia such as bongs and scales. Officers also found ammunition for two types of firearms along with pills and owe notes.
Stroble’s co-defendants were previously sentenced: Schwartz received a sentence of 120 months on September 5, 2024; Hopkins received the same sentence on October 17; Romero was sentenced to ten years on December 12.
The investigation was led by the CODE Task Force—a coalition made up of local police departments (including those from North Platte and Lexington), county sheriff’s offices such as Dawson County’s, state agencies like the Nebraska State Patrol, as well as federal entities including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations—covering a large region across west-central and southwest Nebraska.
“There is no parole in the federal system,” stated U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods regarding Stroble’s sentencing.
