Three Bozeman area men sentenced in drug overdose investigation

MISSOULA—An investigation into Bozeman area pill overdoses in 2017 resulted in the sentencing today of three men convicted of drug trafficking and other charges, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Dylan Joseph Jardin, 21, of Bozeman, was sentenced to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $10,925 restitution and to forfeit $4,012. Jardin pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone and carfentanil.

Rady Charles Waters, 22, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. Waters pleaded guilty in June to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Artemus Lavelle Brock, also known as “Al Beezy”, 30, was sentenced to three years of probation. Brock pleaded guilty in June to possession of cocaine, a misdemeanor.

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

Prosecutors said in court documents that investigators uncovered a drug distribution ring that led to Jardin and the co-defendants after law enforcement in Gallatin County responded to a series of drug overdoses in September 2017.

Five persons who overdosed were revived after being given Narcan, which is an emergency treatment to restore breathing in cases of opiate and narcotic analgesic overdoses.

In interviews with law enforcement, Jardin admitted to distributing oxycodone pills and that he was aware of some of the overdoses. Jardin moved to Montana in 2015 and began selling cocaine, Xanax, meth, marijuana, oxycodone and other drugs. He obtained some of the pills through the dark web and had other sources who typically mailed drugs to him at various addresses in Bozeman. Jardin said he bought meth from sources in Las Vegas and sold drugs, including cocaine, to co-defendants Brent McCarthy, Waters and Brock.

Waters, prosecutors said, told law enforcement that he bought and received drugs from Jardin and acknowledged he had been selling cocaine.

McCarthy was convicted in the case and is pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Betley and Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri River 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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