Billings woman admits meth trafficking charge

BILLINGS — A Billings woman admitted to a methamphetamine trafficking crime today after law enforcement found meth and a semi-automatic handgun in her vehicle during a traffic stop, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Nancy Michelle Hartsock, 36, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth. Hartsock faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Hartsock was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on March 15, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Hartsock. Officers noticed that Hartsock was nervous, animated, trembling and shaking and that there was an open container of Twisted Tea in the back seat. When asked if she had been drinking, Hartsock volunteered she was not allowed because she was on parole. After contacting Hartsock’s parole officer, law enforcement searched her vehicle and found 28 grams of meth, a digital scale, syringes and a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.  During a search of Hartsock’s house, law enforcement found an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a firearm magazine, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and a small amount of meth.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys are prosecuting the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Billings Police Department, Montana Probation and Parole and 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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