Man receives 10-year prison sentence for meth trafficking charge

Federal court officials say a Brooklyn Center man will be serving time in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

Friday, prosecutors announced that 37-year-old Matthew Hines was sentenced Thursday to serve 124 months (10.3 years) in prison and five years of supervised release. Court officials say he pleaded guilty to the charge in May of 2021.

A co-conspirator, identified by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as 39-year-old Chue Xiong of St. Paul, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute meth, one count of possession with intent to distribute meth and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Xiong was sentenced in May of 2022 to 156 months (13 years) in prison and an additional five years of supervised release.

Prosecutors alleged Hines and Xiong coordinated meth distribution in May 2020 and also collected money from purchases to send back to a supplier. Xiong’s vehicle was stopped on May 11 and officers found 1.4 kilograms of meth inside a brown bag Xiong had picked up from Hines’ home.

Court officials also allege there were 614 grams of meth in the driver’s side door pocket, a 9 mm handgun under the driver’s floor mat and a holster on Xiong.

Hines’ home and vehicle were searched the following day, and police say they found more than 400 grams of meth in Hines’ garbage, 2.6 kilograms in the back of his vehicle, multiple cellphones and more than $24,000 in cash.