Flathead County man with five pounds of meth in vehicle sentenced to 12 years in prison

MISSOULA—A Flathead County resident who admitted possessing methamphetamine for distribution after law enforcement found five pounds of the drug in his vehicle was sentenced today to 12 years in prison and to five years of supervised release, said U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

James William Quen, 49, of Coram, pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute meth.

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

The prosecution said in court records that Quen’s vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation on Dec. 16, 2017 in St. Regis. A search warrant was later served on the vehicle and law enforcement recovered five pounds of meth inside. Five pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 18,120 doses. Investigators also received information that Quen had gone to Oregon to get the meth and had supplied pound quantities to another person, who had seen Quen in possession of 10 pounds of meth.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force.

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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