MISSOULA — Shawn James Miller of Deer Lodge, who admitted receiving packages of methamphetamine in the mail for re-distribution and to illegally possessing firearms, was sentenced in federal court on Thursday.
Miller, 33 years old, pleaded guilty on February 18 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
Court documents state that law enforcement learned Miller was involved in drug trafficking in Montana from about 2017 until 2020. Miller admitted to investigators that he received and possessed packages of meth through the mail for re-distribution. The investigation determined that Miller sent a package containing $4,000 cash to California.
The government further alleged Miller aided drug trafficking activities by wiring money to the Dominican Republic and Mexico, in addition to other locations, and that Miller was conservatively responsible for at least two pounds of meth, which is the equivalent of 7,248 doses, in Montana’s communities.
Miller also pawned two firearms in Butte in March 2020 after having been convicted of several felonies in Montana. Co-defendants Humberto Horiol Medina Villarreal and Charles Joshua Petty have pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided, and sentenced Miller to five years in prison and to five years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan G. Weldon prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Butte Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
