Billings Woman Sentenced to Prison for Six Years for Trafficking Meth as Part of Large Distribution Ring Based on Crow Indian Reservation
BILLINGS, Mont. — A Billings woman who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine as part of a large drug distribution ring based on the Crow Indian Reservation and was found with meth and a semi-automatic handgun during a traffic stop was sentenced today to six years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Nancy Michelle Hartsock, 36, pleaded guilty in August to possession with intent to distribute meth.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Hartsock is one of approximately two dozen defendants related to a large-scale conspiracy centered on the distribution of meth on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations. On March 15, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop in Billings of a vehicle driven by Hartsock. In a subsequent search of her vehicle, officers found 28 grams of meth, drug paraphernalia and a firearm under the driver’s seat. Because she was on probation law enforcement searched her home and found a semi-automatic rifle and a small amount of meth.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys prosecuted the case. The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Billings Police Department, Montana Probation and Parole and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force conducted the investigation.
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 of Justice 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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