Department of Justice

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Mexican national was sentenced today to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Evirso Real Ampude, aka Poncho, 48, pleaded guilty in May, to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

In court documents, the government alleged that in the fall of 2021, law enforcement learned that a Mexican national, known as Poncho and later identified as Ampude, was distributing meth and fentanyl on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. Several witnesses reported receiving meth, fentanyl or both from Ampude, and multiple witnesses reported working with Ampude to distribute drugs. In August 2022, Ampude was arrested during a traffic stop and was found in possession of a fentanyl pill and a half a gram of meth. In the vehicle was approximately $8,000 in cash and three cell phones.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ethan R. Plaut and Wendy A. Johnson prosecuted the case. The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Border Patrol, Tri-Agency Task Force and Montana Highway Patrol 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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