BILLINGS – An Arizona man who admitted drug trafficking and firearm crimes after officers seized more than four pounds of methamphetamine in Livingston was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison and to five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.
Gaspar Feliciano Salas, 46, of Glendale, Arizona, pleaded guilty on Aug. 7, 2020, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
The government alleged in court documents filed in the case that the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force learned in February 2020 that a person had been purchasing multi-pound quantities of meth from Salas and another individual since February 2019.
Salas and the individual traveled together to Montana to distribute meth. On April 23, 2020, agents located Salas and the individual at a hotel in Livingston and searched the room pursuant to a warrant.
Agents seized 4.69 pounds of meth, which is the equivalent of about 16,996 doses, in a backpack. The backpack also contained a loaded 9mm handgun and an additional 51 rounds of ammunition.
