Great Falls drug trafficker sentenced to 15 years in prison for meth, firearms

GREAT FALLS—A Great Falls man who admitted drug trafficking and firearms crimes after law enforcement officers responded to a report of drug activity at a local hotel was sentenced today to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Gregory George Denny, 47, pleaded guilty in August to possession with intent to distribute meth and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

Law enforcement officers responded on Jan. 21, 2018 to a report of potential drug activity at two rooms at a Great Falls hotel and found Denny in one of the rooms. An officer felt a suspected meth pipe in a jacket he was handing to Denny. After getting a search warrant, officers found baggies of meth in the coat, a plastic vial with marijuana and a glass pipe with white residue. Officers also found additional bags of meth, two cellular phones, $900 in cash, a scale, a knife and a hand grenade. And officers found four firearms and numerous rounds of ammunition on the bed. A search of Denny’s phones determined there were extensive communications involving drug distribution, including messages where Denny was negotiating multi-pound meth deals. Other messages indicated Denny negotiated selling meth for firearms and vice versa.

Witnesses told law enforcement that Denny had been dealing meth since at least 2017 and typically possessed firearms.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Great Falls Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations.

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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