GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) – A Bigfork man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release after he was convicted of methamphetamine trafficking on the Hi-Line.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said Shane Alan Nault, 44, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors said drug task force officers were alerted by informants that Nault was selling meth in and around Hill County, and set up an undercover operation that also surveilled multiple drug transactions in his pickup truck.
Officers arrested Nault and obtained a search warrant for the truck. During the search, officers found a 9mm pistol, three packages containing about 500 grams of meth and other drug paraphernalia. Nault was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a previous felony conviction in U.S. District Court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Starnes prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Havre Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol, Tri-Agency Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration.
