Star man sent to prison on drug, weapons charges

Alexander C. Gruber had a lot of things going wrong for him. The 20-year-old spent his time selling drugs, he was a ripoff artist and on top of that, he wasn’t very good at math.

Last January, Gruber sold what he told the buyer was an “eight-ball,” a quarter-ounce of cocaine, according to court records. Only it wasn’t an eight-ball and wasn’t cocaine.

The buyer, a confidential informant working on behalf of the Boise Police Department, was given 5.3 grams of a white substance that later tested positive for ... methamphetamine. Although it was a completely different drug, the buyer received more than the 3.5 grams contained in an eight-ball.

Gruber also asked the informant whether he or she wanted to buy a sawed-off shotgun from him. Later that month, Gruber delivered the 12-gauge Maverick Arms shotgun.

Gruber was arrested and charged with the federal crimes of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Magistrate Candy Dale sentenced Gruber to three years in prison. Earlier, he pleaded guilty to both charges.

Gruber had faced up to 20 years on the drug charge and up to 10 years on the weapons charge.

At the time of his arrest, Gruber was on probation for a 2014 conviction in Ada County for delivery of a controlled substance. In April, he was convicted of a probation violation and was sentenced to two to five years in state prison.

The federal sentence will run concurrently to the state court sentence.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Star man sent to prison on drug, weapons charges."