The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on May 24, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, COLE BRIDGER WALTER, a 25-year-old resident of Bozeman, appeared for sentencing. WALTER was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 37 months

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: 4 years

WALTER was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute heroin.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

WALTER was reported to be transporting heroin from Denver to Bozeman beginning in August 2010.

On October 28, 2010, officers from the Missouri River Drug Task Force in Bozeman, using a confidential informant, met WALTER in Billings, where he was reportedly on his way to Bozeman to distribute a quantity of heroin. While en route from Billings, the task force officers asked a trooper from the Montana Highway Patrol to locate the informant's car, which WALTER was driving. The trooper executed a traffic stop on the car, arrested WALTER for driving without a driver's license, and transported him to the Livingston jail.

WALTER was searched at the jail and also at the Livingston hospital, and approximately 50 grams of heroin were seized from his person. WALTER admitted that the heroin belonged to him. He also admitted that he had received approximately 200 grams of heroin from a source in Denver since August 2010 and had transported the heroin to Bozeman to distribute.

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

The investigation was a cooperative effort between U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Missouri River Drug Task Force.

 

 

Return to Top