Missoula man sentenced to six years for meth

MISSOULA—Missoula resident Gerald Eugene Kennedy, who admitted to distributing methamphetamine for two to three years, was sentenced today to six years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Kennedy, 54, pleaded guilty in October to possession with intent to distribute meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.

Kennedy was charged after a Missoula Police Department sergeant pulled Kennedy over during a traffic stop and discovered meth on Kennedy’s person during a pat down. Kennedy admitted that the substance was meth and later admitted to having distributed meth for about two to three years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Montana Regional Violent Crimes Task Force and FBI.

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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