Twin Bridges Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

MISSOULA – Martin James Walsh, a 53-year-old resident of Twin Bridges, Montana, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeramiah Lynch presided over the hearing.

Beginning in October 2016, the South West Montana Drug Task Force (SWMDTF) used a confidential informant to purchase an 8 ball of methamphetamine from Walsh.  The next month the SWMDTF again made an undercover purchase of ¼ ounce of methamphetamine from Walsh.  In June 2017, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office used another confidential informant to purchase a small amount of heroin from Walsh.  Based upon the purchases, sheriff deputies obtained a search warrant for Walsh’s residence in Twin Bridges.  During the search of Walsh’s home they found a digital scale, several glass smoking pipes, a large box containing four bags of a white crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.  Walsh was home at the time of the search.  He was detained and       read his Miranda rights.  Walsh stated that he had been selling ounces of meth in Madison County as well as Bozeman and Butte.  The amount of methamphetamine found in Walsh’s residence was approximately 260 grams or 2080 dosing units.

Further investigation by the Missouri River Drug Task Force learned that Walsh had been supplying large quantities of methamphetamine to a distributor in Bozeman.  It was learned that between July 2016 through January 2017, Walsh had distributed 1357 grams, or 10,856 dosing units, of methamphetamine to his co-conspirator to be distributed throughout the Gallatin County area.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan R. Whittaker and investigated by the FBI, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, South West Montana Drug Task Force, and the Missouri River Drug Task Force.