Browning man admits fentanyl trafficking

GREAT FALLS — A Browning man admitted today to trafficking fentanyl pills on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation after officers attempting to arrest him found blue pills scattered around the bedroom floor, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Rayne Forrest Rivers Charette, 41, appeared for arraignment on and pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Charette faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and at least three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Jan. 8, 2025. Charette was detained pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that in March 2023, the Blackfeet Tribe issued an arrest warrant for Charette because he was wanted in Yellowstone County on a state drug charge. The Tribe adopted the state warrant and issued a tribal warrant. During the execution of the warrant at a residence where Charette was known to be living, officers observed Charette attempting to leap out of a bedroom window. During the arrest, officer observed blue pills, believed to be fentanyl, scattered around the floor of the bedroom. After getting a search warrant, officers collected more than 500 fentanyl pills, more than $1,000 cash and drug paraphernalia in the room where Charette was arrested. Law enforcement also interviewed several informants who stated they had obtained fentanyl from Charette.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Blackfeet Law Enforcement Service and the FBI conducted the investigation.

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