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Press Release

Washington man sentenced for meth distribution

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

GREAT FALLS – A Washington man who admitted distributing pound quantities of methamphetamine primarily in the Great Falls area was sentenced on Dec. 12 to 90 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Cody David Paine, 35, of Kettle Falls, Wash., pleaded guilty previously to possession with intent to distribute meth.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

An FBI investigation that began in February 2017 identified Paine as dealing large quantities of meth in Great Falls. Paine would travel with others in 2016 to Washington to pick up pounds of meth for distribution in various locations in Montana, including Missoula and Great Falls.

In May 2018, agents arrested an individual on a warrant in Missoula and learned that the individual had obtained about seven pounds of meth and a pound of heroin over three months in 2018 from Paine. Also in May, FBI agents arrested Paine in Missoula. Paine told agents that he had a large customer base for meth in Montana and that he had distributed multiple pounds of meth. One pound of meth is the equivalent of about 3,624 individual doses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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Contact

Clair Johnson Howard
Public Information Officer
406-247-4623

Updated December 14, 2018

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods