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Press Release

California man sentenced to more than 15 years in Missoula meth trafficking investigation

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

MISSOULA—A California man who admitted conspiring to bring methamphetamine to Missoula for distribution was sentenced today to 15 years and 10 months in prison and to five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Justin Michael Allen, 33, of Glendora, CA, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to distribute meth and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

The prosecution said in court records that in January, the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force received information that an individual on state probation was involved in distributing meth. Task force officers worked with the probationer as a confidential informant and learned that Allen was coming to Missoula to bring the informant meth. Officers arrested Allen on Feb. 11 when he entered a store in Missoula. Allen told the officers to check his jacket pocket, and they found a 9mm pistol. Officers served a warrant on the vehicle Allen used to travel to Montana and seized three packages that were determined to contain 1,204 grams, or about 2.6 pounds, of pure meth. That quantity of meth is the equivalent of about 9,422 doses. Two other persons who traveled with Allen also were arrested.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Racicot prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missoula HIDTA.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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Contact

Clair Johnson Howard
Public Information Officer
406-247-4623

Updated October 18, 2019

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods