BILLINGS, Mont. (NMB) – A Billings man convicted by a jury of trafficking crimes for his role in a large drug organization that brought hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine into Montana has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison and to five years of supervised release.
During a three-day trial, a jury found Nicholas John Montano, 35, guilty of conspiracy to possess meth with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute as charged in an indictment.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
In court documents and evidence presented at trial, the government alleged that in the spring and summer of 2018, Montano received meth from Joshua Clause, who headed a large drug trafficking ring that imported hundreds of pounds of meth into Montana. Clause pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. After meeting Montano through another person, Clause contacted Montano, who began to receive meth from Clause for redistribution.
Clause supplied Montano with approximately 10 to 15 pounds of meth during their association. Law enforcement officers arrested Montano in Billings on a federal warrant on August 19th, 2018 after he fled in a stolen vehicle and was tracked to an apartment complex.
Information courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana
