Man sentenced for growing marijuana

A 29-year-old Kalispell man was sentenced to one year and one day in prison with seven years of supervised release Wednesday during U.S. District Court proceedings in Missoula.

Tyler Roe had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana after it was discovered that he, Michael Kassner and others had been operating a marijuana grow operation in Olney.

The owner of the building in which it was located had transformed the interior into a growing facility.

A search on March 14, 2011, led to the seizure of approximately 718 marijuana plants.

Roe considered himself the “on-site manager” of the Black Pearl dispensary.

Roe lived on the premises along with Kassner, who also has pleaded guilty to federal charges. Roe said his job was to do construction work and take care of the plants

He was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $100.

The investigation that led to the charges was a cooperative effort between U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force.

Dispensary owner Ryan Blindheim has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and money laundering.