Matt Dion Sayers, 47, sentenced to 5-plus years in prison for dealing fentanyl outside Bemidji motel

MINNEAPOLIS – A Red Lake man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for distributing drugs outside of an Bemidji motel.

Matt Dion Sayers, 47, was convicted of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, and for possessing a firearm as a felon, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Court documents showed federal investigators started focusing on Sayers after he escaped the custody of Red Lake police in June of 2022. He was later seen parked outside of a motel in Bemidji, and going in and out of a van. 

Agents arrested Sayers on suspicion of controlled substance sales, and found 46 grams of fentanyl powder in his pants. Inside his vehicle, agents found $11,000 in cash, a safe containing several baggies of fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as an UZI semi-automatic pistol.

Sayers pleaded guilty last December, and was sentenced Monday. After serving his sentence, he was undergo four years of supervised release.