Saturday, December 01, 2018

Billings woman sentenced for meth trafficking


BILLINGS – A federal judge sentenced Billings resident Nichole Renee Waldhalm today to five years in prison and five years supervised release for her conviction in a conspiracy that brought meth from California to the Billings area for distribution, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided at the sentencing.

Waldhalm, 40, pleaded guilty on July 19 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth.

In October 2017, drug task force officers received information that Waldhalm was distributing meth she had received from California. Investigators worked with a confidential informant, who made a series of meth buys ranging from a quarter ounce to a half ounce of meth from Waldhalm. In December, Waldhalm was arrested by the Montana Highway Patrol and was found to be in possession of an ounce of meth, an ounce of cocaine and a stolen firearm.

Waldhalm admitted to law enforcement she had been selling meth since October 2016 and that in September 2017, she and a co-defendant brought between two to four ounces of meth from California to Montana.

The conspiracy involved more than 50 grams of actual meth. The amount is the equivalent of about 400 doses.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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