Meridian Man Robert Sentenced to 14 Years for Witness Tampering

Daniel Robert, a 46-year-old Meridian man, was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison for attempted witness tampering, a move that adds five years to his already hefty drug trafficking sentence. The conviction, handed down after a hard-fought federal trial, underscores a brazen attempt by Robert to obstruct justice from behind bars.

Robert, already serving 330 months for a multi-state narcotics trafficking ring that operated from 2007 to 2009, thought he could silence those set to testify. But federal prosecutors say he miscalculated. After his capture in June 2018—ending nearly a decade on the run—he began a campaign of intimidation from jail, funneling messages through family and associates to witnesses who could put him away for good.

Court records show Robert made repeated phone calls directing unnamed individuals to contact potential trial witnesses. The orders were clear: avoid subpoenas, claim memory loss, or refuse to show up. One directive was particularly damning—he drafted a false affidavit and instructed a witness to sign it, an act prosecutors called a direct assault on the integrity of the judicial process.

In January 2020, Robert was convicted of the underlying narcotics charges after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Jackson. The witness tampering charges followed, stemming from his jailhouse efforts to undermine that trial. The court ruled that nine years of the 14-year tampering sentence would run concurrently with his existing 330-month term, but five years must be served consecutively.

The FBI led the investigation into Robert’s attempt to manipulate the justice system, peeling back layers of coded conversations and third-party messengers. Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby said the sentence sends a clear message: “No one is above the law, not even from a jail cell.”

U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca praised the work of Criminal Chief Erin O. Chalk and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Kirkham, who prosecuted both cases. “Daniel Robert thought he could buy silence or fear,” LaMarca said. “Instead, he bought more time. Five extra years behind bars for trying to break the system.”