GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) – Two Box Elder residents were arraigned in U.S. District Court last week based on allegations of distributing fentanyl on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
Timothy Michael Koop, 61, and Kelli Jo Lamere, 29, pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants face a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Both defendants were released pending further proceedings.
The Grand Jury indictment alleges that between April and June of 2021, Koop and Lamere “knowingly and unlawfully conspired with each other” to distribute fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and within Hill County.
The FBI, the Tri-Agency Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.
