Billings man sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for armed meth, fentanyl trafficking in Billings community

BILLINGS — A Billings man who admitted to drug trafficking and firearms crimes after law enforcement more than a pound of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills and a loaded gun in his motel room was sentenced today to 16 years and three months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Robert Earl Biggs, 49, of Billings, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that in 2022, the Billings Police Department Street Crimes Unit learned through an investigation that Biggs was staying in a local motel and using others to distribute drugs for him. One of his distributors told officers that she had seen four to five pounds of meth and approximately 4,000 fentanyl pills in Biggs’ room a few days prior. The investigation ultimately led to officers detaining Biggs and searching his motel room. Law enforcement located fentanyl pills, more than a pound of meth, a black bag containing $5,860 and a loaded firearm in the room. Co-defendant Brandi Davitt was sentenced in January to four years in prison for her conviction in the case, while co-defendant Leota Beartusk-Martinez pleaded guilty to a trafficking crime and is awaiting sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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