BILLINGS - A Livingston man who led law enforcement on a vehicle chase before getting arrested after a manhunt was sentenced on Wednesday to 13 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release for methamphetamine trafficking crimes, according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Shaunesy Alan Cole, 37, pleaded guilty in June to possession with intent to distribute meth and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
Cole was charged with drug trafficking crimes after Park County sheriff’s deputies attempted to pull over a vehicle Cole was driving in July 2018, the prosecution said in court records.
Cole gave a false name and instead of stepping out of the vehicle as instructed, he sped off. As deputies pursued, Cole fired a gun from the driver’s side window. Law enforcement stopped the chase for safety reasons and because Cole had driven down a dead end road. Law enforcement set up a road block and a manhunt began.
The next day, deputies got a call from a resident in Quinn Creek that Cole was walking around the balcony of his home. As officers converged, Cole jumped off the balcony and went down a steep embankment.
Officers arrested Cole a short time later. During a search of the area, officers found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol. On Cole, officers found a box of 9mm ammunition and about 21 grams of meth.
In an interview with law enforcement, Cole said he was using heroin, meth and acid and that he had traded four grams of meth for the 9mm pistol. Law enforcement determined that the pistol had been reported stolen.
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