Justin Carlton Whitman Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 26, 2013 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on June 26, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, Justin Carlton Whitman, a 31-year-old resident of Billings, was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 77 months
- Special assessment: $100
- Supervised release: three years
Whitman was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In October 2010, the FBI Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force (BSSSTF) received information about a large-scale methamphetamine distribution organization operating in Yellowstone County.
In the spring of 2011, Eastern Montana HIDTA agents began performing electronic surveillance on Carlos Menjivar, an individual living in Billings. Investigators discovered that Menjivar began supplying the larger organization in late 2010 with methamphetamine.
During the investigation law enforcement learned that Whitman, a/k/a “Pounder,” was a methamphetamine distributor for Menjivar from August 2011 until about December 2011.
Whitman was interviewed by law enforcement and admitted to selling methamphetamine for Menjivar. Whitman was normally provided with one or two ounces at a time. Whitman estimated he received meth from Menjivar five or six times in total. Whitman also admitted to having received meth from Menjivar’s wife, Dawn Menjivar.
Whitman admitted to receiving at least 49 grams of methamphetamine but less than 50 grams of methamphetamine from the Menjivars during the course of the conspiracy. Whitman admitted he possessed the methamphetamine he received from the Menjivarses with the intent to distribute it and did, in fact, distribute the methamphetamine to his customers.
Carlos and Dawn Menjivar both pled guilty to federal charges.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that Whitman will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Whitman does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force.