Meth trafficker from Laurel sentenced to prison

BILLINGS—Laurel resident David Beckett, who admitted to methamphetamine trafficking charges after picking up a package of the drug that was sent through the U.S. Postal Service, was sentenced today to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Beckett, 45, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and to possession with intent to distribute.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided.

In February, law enforcement got a tip about a package containing about a half-pound of meth was being shipped from California to a Laurel address, the prosecution said in court records. Beckett was to pick up the package and distribute the meth in Billings and surrounding areas.

Working with the U.S. Postal Inspector, law enforcement located the package and a K9 dog from the Billings Police Department alerted to the package. The same day, Beckett went to the post office in Laurel and said he was expecting a package. He was told the package was not available. Beckett returned a few hours later and again, was told the package was not available. The next day, Beckett returned to the post office and was told the package had not arrived. He provided law enforcement with his contact information and a tracking number for the package. The information he provided matched law enforcement’s information. After getting a federal search warrant for the package, law enforcement found about 114.4 grams of meth inside.

Law enforcement returned the package to the Laurel post office and called Beckett to tell him his package had arrived. Less than 10 minutes later, Beckett arrived, got out of his car and was arrested.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colin Rubich and Bryan Dake prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area 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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