Nalayna Rose Bullinsight Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 19, 2012 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings on January 18, 2012, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, NALAYNA ROSE BULLINSIGHT, a 33-year-old resident of Hardin, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Sentencing has been set for April 18, 2012. She is currently released on special conditions.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Drug Enforcement Division has been involved in an ongoing investigation related to the distribution of methamphetamine in and around the Crow Indian Reservation. As part of that investigation, BULLINSIGHT was identified as a distributor of methamphetamine.
On July 12, 2011, BULLINSIGHT was interviewed and admitted that she began as a user of methamphetamine. In approximately 2007, she started distributing methamphetamine, which she continued doing through at least March of 2010.
She identified her primary methamphetamine source as Danetta Old Elk. This information was confirmed by Old Elk, and a number of additional cooperating witnesses. BULLINSIGHT had known Old Elk for approximately seven years. She began obtaining free methamphetamine from Old Elk on a weekly basis around September 2008 up to January 2009 in 1/8-ounce quantities of methamphetamine.
On October 14, 2010, law enforcement interviewed Old Elk. Old Elk confirmed that she distributed methamphetamine to BULLINSIGHT. She stated that beginning in September 2008, and continuing until at least August 2009, she distributed 1/2-ounce quantities of methamphetamine to BULLINSIGHT one to two times a day.
In March 2009, December 2009, and February 2010, law enforcement conducted interviews with confidential sources. One of the sources obtained Old Elk’s telephone number from BULLINSIGHT and used the number to purchase methamphetamine from Old Elk.
In October 2009, another of the sources obtained 1/4-ounce quantities of methamphetamine twice from BULLINSIGHT. Additionally this source distributed approximately $10,000 worth of methamphetamine for BULLINSIGHT over a three-month period in 2002-03.
On March 24, 2009, a BIA confidential source contacted Old Elk and made a controlled purchase of 3.4 grams of methamphetamine. This source believed that Old Elk’s methamphetamine supplier was BULLINSIGHT.
Another source was interviewed on March 23, 2010. The source was purchasing methamphetamine—three $30.00 bindles—from another individual on the Crow Indian Reservation and learned that the source of the methamphetamine was BULLINSIGHT. The source began distributing methamphetamine for BULLINSIGHT around New Years 2010. The source obtained methamphetamine from BULLINSIGHT on a daily basis. The largest amount was 14 bindles and the source estimated that the source obtained methamphetamine from BULLINSIGHT 15-20 times.
Another source was interviewed on May 12, 2010. This source stated that the source purchased quarter gram and half gram quantities of methamphetamine from BULLINSIGHT on an average of once a week from late 2007 to the Fall of 2009.
Old Elk pled guilty to federal charges and has been sentenced.
BULLINSIGHT faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, a $4,000,000 fine and five years’ supervised release.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.