Cassandra Marie Seal Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 29, 2012 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on August 29, 2012, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Cassandra Marie Seal, a 31-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. Seal was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 210 months
- Special assessment: $100
- Supervised release: 10 years
Seal was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
Law enforcement developed a source from Yakima, Washington, that provided information about methamphetamine being delivered to Billings. He was introduced to Seal, who was distributing some of the methamphetamine.
On approximately September 24, 2011, Seal contacted the source and wanted to purchase more methamphetamine. Communication between the two continued up until October 14, 2011. Seal and the source set up a deal for half a pound of methamphetamine where half would be paid for and the other half would be fronted. Seal told the source she could sell the fronted four ounces in a few hours and come back with the cash.
On October 14, 2011, the source arrived in Laurel for the reverse drug transaction with Seal. Task force officers rented two adjacent rooms in the motel where audio and video were set up in the room with the source and an undercover agent.
Phone calls were exchanged, and Seal arrived at the motel with D.M. and A.K. All five individuals talked for awhile until the methamphetamine was displayed. Seal stated she had $7,000 cash on her for the deal. D.M. took the methamphetamine and spoke about the quality. D.M. poured the methamphetamine out of the bag and onto a plastic tray to further inspect it. A.K. assisted him in getting the tray ready to pour the methamphetamine onto. A.K. and D.M. then looked at and talked about the quality of the methamphetamine and agreed to purchase the same. All three individuals were then taken into custody. As A.K. was patted down, two semi-automatic handguns were located on him.
Seal agreed to speak with the agents. During the interview, she admitted that A.K. was going to sell two ounces of the methamphetamine to a friend of his, and she was going to sell two ounces to a friend of hers. D.M. was going to take the other four ounces as all the money was his.
The amount of methamphetamine involved was 221.8 grams of 86.9 percent methamphetamine or 192.7 grams of actual methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that Seal will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Seal 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 a cooperative effort between the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.