Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on April 9, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, CARMEN ANN LAVERDURE, a 56-year-old resident of Great Falls, appeared for sentencing.

LAVERDURE was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 80 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 5 years

She was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On August 15, 2008, the Great Falls Police Department received a telephone call from an inmate at the Cascade County Detention Center, regarding methamphetamine trafficking by the Carmen and Ralph Laverdure. When later interviewed, the inmate stated over the past three months, he had obtained approximately one-half ounce of methamphetamine from the Laverdures. He stated he purchased the methamphetamine in .25 gram paper bindles. The inmate stated CARMEN LAVERDURE weighed-out and prepared the paper bindles of methamphetamine, as well as controlled the money after the sale of the narcotics. The inmate also stated he had smoked the methamphetamine with both Laverdures at their residence and had observed Ralph Laverdure attempting to make a methamphetamine pipe from a cigar tube.

On August 21, 2008, agents executed a search warrant on the Laverdure home. At that time, they seized thirty bindles of methamphetamine with a combined weight of 83.1 grams (including package weight), $852.45 in cash, four methamphetamine pipes and a syringe.

When interviewed by law enforcement, CARMEN LAVERDURE stated that she and Ralph Laverdure were both users of meth, and that Ralph Laverdure sold meth and would sometimes give her the money to hold. She admitted that she would make 175-200 paper bindles of methamphetamine, weighing approximately .125 grams each. CARMEN admitted Ralph provided her with at least six plastic baggies of methamphetamine which totaled approximately 126-300 grams.

Interviews of witnesses disclosed that the Laverdures trafficked in well over a kilo (1,000 grams) of methamphetamine over the last five years.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LAVERDURE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LAVERDURE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Central Montana Drug Task Force.

 

 

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