Busby woman admits armed meth trafficking on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

BILLINGS— A Busby woman on May 18 admitted to trafficking methamphetamine while possessing a firearm after officers found the drug and three firearms in a car in which she was traveling, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

Jamesey Maria Jefferson, 33, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense as charged in a superseding information. Jefferson 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 at least five years of supervised release on the firearm crime.

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. Jefferson 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. Officers detained Jefferson and three other people who were in the car. 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. Jefferson admitted to investigators that she possessed the meth, the .17-caliber rifle and the 9mm handgun.

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

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