A Vian man has been sentenced to 120 months in a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility on a charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Robert “Bob” C. Ward, 69, was sentenced last week by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Ward’s charges reportedly arose following an investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff ’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, after a narcotics search warrant was served on Jan. 2, 2024, at Ward’s Vian residence.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane said during the search, authorities reported finding nearly two pounds of what was believed to be methamphetamine, a large amount of marijuana, bags of an unknown brownish powder substance, digital scales, packaging materials, drug paraphernalia, more than 40 firearms, more than $2,000 in U.S. currency, and a digital surveillance system.

Ward was held in the Sequoyah County Detention Center without bond following the bust.

On June 3, Ward pleaded guilty to the charge. In total, he possessed over 575 grams of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, which he intended to distribute to others.

Lane said the bust was the conclusion of a very lengthy investigation into numerous property thefts and methamphetamine distribution in Sequoyah County.

“Bob Ward has been a thorn in our side for sev-eral years. We have busted him several times and he’s always managed to get his cases dismissed. It’s really frustrating to me and for my deputies and investigators when they work so hard to get a known drug dealer and thief off the streets, and he just laughs at them as he walks out of the courthouse,” Lane said, following Ward’s arrest.

Lane said some cases take longer than others to develop solid probable cause.

“Investigator Galen Irvin wrote the search warrant and had a ton of paperwork to follow, but our entire investigation unit, as well as the patrol deputies, have worked a long time on this target,” he said. “I’m proud they have all worked together so well to get this guy.”

Ward will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated prison facility to serve a non-parolable sentence of incarceration.