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Press Release

Washington man sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for drug trafficking in Billings

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

BILLINGS  — A Washington man who admitted to a drug trafficking crime after law enforcement found fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and a loaded 9mm handgun in a search of his Billings hotel room and truck was sentenced today to 11 years and three months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Joel David Lund, 40, of Seattle, Washington, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

In court documents, the government alleged that in September 2022, an investigation into an individual caught with a significant amount of fentanyl led to Lund as the person who sold the drug from his Billings hotel room. Agents served a search warrant on Lund’s hotel room, his truck and bags and seized approximately 2,000 fentanyl pills, meth, cocaine, heroin and a loaded 9mm handgun.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations and Billings Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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Contact

Clair Johnson Howard

Public Affairs Officer

406-247-4623

Updated March 23, 2023

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Press Release Number: 23-98