Busby man admits armed meth trafficking on Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

BILLINGS —A Busby man today admitted to armed methamphetamine trafficking on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation after law enforcement found the drug and three firearms in a car in which he was traveling, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Ivan Eaglefeathers, 20, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime as charged in a superseding information. Eaglefeathers faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and at least three years of supervised release on the drug crime and a mandatory minimum five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and a mandatory minimum of five years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Eaglefeathers was detained pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that on Sept. 12, 2021 on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, law enforcement officers stopped a car that had run two stop signs, was traveling at a high rate of speed and was believed to have been seen at an earlier shooting. Four people in the car, including Eaglefeathers, and were engaged in distributing meth. Officers detained all four persons. A federal search warrant was served on the car and officers found approximately 48 grams of meth, $2,000 in cash, a scale and drug paraphernalia, ammunition and three firearms. The guns were a .17-caliber rifle, an AR-style 5.56mm rifle and a 9mm handgun. A video of Eaglefeathers and a co-defendant shows Eaglefeathers outside of the vehicle on the same day with a gun in his hand. Eaglefeathers admitted to having one of the rifles in the car and to having shot it in the air.

Co-defendant Jamesey Maria Jefferson of Busby pleaded guilty to charges in the case and is pending sentencing.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs  conducted the investigation.

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