California Man Sentenced for Selling Oxycodone Pills in Great Falls

GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 46-year old Lafaven Adams of Corona, California, was sentenced to 54 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.  U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.  

In February of 2017, law enforcement officers in Great Falls, Montana, became aware of large shipments of oxycodone arriving in Great Falls from California.  That month, detectives examined a package that contained approximately 200 oxycodone pills, which possessed a street value of approximately $12,000.  Through further investigation, officers learned that similar shipments had arrived in Great Falls and surrounding areas, and all of them came from Long Beach, California. 

Officers later identified the source of these shipments as the defendant, Lafaven Adams.  In March of 2017, detectives found Adams in Great Falls and watched him complete numerous drug deals in various parking lots.  Pursuant to a search warrant, detectives found 544 oxycodone pills in Adams’ hotel room.  The pills had a street value of approximately $32,000 and were of the same type and manufacture as the pills previously seized. 

Through additional investigation, detectives learned that Adams frequently traveled to Great Falls from Long Beach, and distributed hundreds of pills from his hotel room and throughout town.  When Adams was not in Great Falls, he sent numerous packages that contained pills to Great Falls for redistribution.  Adams has an extensive criminal history that includes numerous prior drug trafficking convictions. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by the Russell Country Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.