The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on July 7, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JASON JAY McLEOD, a 34-year-old resident of Gresham, Oregon, appeared for sentencing. McLEOD was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 100 months

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: 4 years

McLEOD was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.

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

Over the course of 2008, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation (MDCI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a long-term investigation of cocaine trafficking in Billings.

As part of that investigation, on September 16, 2008, members of the Montana Highway Patrol and DEA conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Chad Sanford. The vehicle contained cocaine.

When interviewed, Sanford stated he was delivering the cocaine and marijuana to another person in Billings. McLEOD stated he was delivering the drugs on behalf of James Mack and Travis Henry, who then resided in Colorado.

Sanford also discussed the history of the conspiracy. He stated that earlier in the year he began to assist Mack and Henry in obtaining cocaine from sources in Arizona and Portland, Oregon.

Sanford recounted that, as part of the effort to obtain cocaine in Portland, he contacted McLEOD, who resided in Portland. In approximately June 2008, McLEOD put Sanford in touch with a source of supply for cocaine in the Portland area. The source of supply, in turn, distributed multiple kilograms of cocaine to Sanford, Mack, and Henry. Some of the cocaine was transported to Billings by J.V., who possessed the cocaine with the intent to distribute it, but was robbed before he could actually distribute the cocaine.

Henry, Mack, and Sanford pled guilty to federal charges and have been sentenced.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that McLEOD will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, McLEOD 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 the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.

 

 

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