U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana issued the following announcement on Jan. 10.
A Flathead Valley man who admitted possessing methamphetamine for distribution and having firearms in relation to meth trafficking was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Patrick Ryan O’Leary, 56, of Martin City, pleaded guilty in September to possession with intent to distribute meth and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
In court documents filed in the case, the prosecution said in March 2019, drug task force agents received information that O’Leary and his wife, Toni Jean Krause, a co-defendant, were involved in distributing meth in the Flathead Valley. Agents executed a search warrant at the couple’s Martin City residence and seized about 400 grams of meth, surveillance equipment, three firearms, electronic evidence and a large quantity of U.S. currency. The firearms included a pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic shotgun and a semiautomatic rifle. Krause pleaded guilty in the case and is awaiting sentencing.
In June 2019, agents stopped O’Leary while he was making a drug run and found about 11 ounces of meth on his motorcycle and a loaded .357 magnum revolver on his person. O’Leary admitted to law enforcement that the meth was his and that he possessed the revolver.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Kalispell Police Department and the Whitefish Police Department.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, the USDOJ’s initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 through 2018. Through these initiatives, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
Original source can be found here.
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