Montana

US Attorney announces dismantling of meth-trafficking ring based on Crow Reservation • Daily Montanan

Published

12 months ago

November 15, 2024

US Attorney announces dismantling of meth-trafficking ring based on Crow Reservation • Daily Montanan

Twenty-seven people were convicted as part of a broad meth and fentanyl-trafficking ring based on the Crow Indian Reservation but tied to three other reservations in Montana, as well as Washington state and Mexico, Montana’s U.S. Attorney announced Thursday.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich said the operation to target the drug-trafficking ring Spear Siding was one of the largest drug trafficking investigations in Montana in recent years. It started in June 2022 and ended in a raid in April 2023. Laslovich announced the convictions at a news conference in Billings on Thursday.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal court documents, two homes on the Crow Reservation, one of them called Spear Siding, where some of the top dealers lived, were the center of the trafficking ring and dealt meth on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations in southeastern Montana.

But the ring also expanded to Rocky Boy’s and the Fort Belknap reservations and into Billings and Havre. The conspirators would trade drugs for pounds of meth and guns at the Spear Siding property, and sent proceeds from the drug sales to Washington, California, and Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“The Spear Siding trafficking organization moved onto the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations to exploit and prey on persons addicted to meth and fentanyl, all due to greed. While meth and fentanyl distribution impacts all of Montana, these drugs continue to disproportionately devastate Indian Country,” Laslovich said in a statement. “As this Spear Siding investigation shows, Montana’s Indian reservations are not a safe haven for out-of-state traffickers who think they can move in, set up shop, and enlist local residents to peddle drugs.”

Twenty-seven people pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, firearms crimes, or both, his office said. Two alleged co-conspirators are still on the run, including one of the top-level people behind the operation.

Wendell Lefthand and his sister Frederica Lefthand, who both lived at the Spear Siding home, each had a hand in running the operation. Wendell Lefthand initially was running the operation along with one of the now-fugitives, whom he met through a meth distributor in Washington. That unnamed co-conspirator moved to the Spear Siding home, after which “business started booming,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Wendell Lefthand was arrested in June 2022 on a different charge, and his sister took over the Montana operation, dealing “pounds and pounds and pounds” of meth, according to court documents.

She and the co-conspirator allegedly built an operation that sent hundreds of pounds of meth to the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations to be distributed to lower-level dealers.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted and assisted with the investigation.

“Cartel members preyed on an already vulnerable population, further fueling the drug crisis on Montana’s Indian Reservations, and employing members of the community to peddle poison to their own people,” Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha said in a statement. “Too many lives have been lost to illicit drugs. Too many families have suffered. The FBI and our partners will not stop pursuing criminals harming our communities.”

The 27 people convicted received the following sentences, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

Wendell Lefthand, of Lodge Grass: 180 months in prison
Frederica Lefthand, of Lodge Grass: 288 months in prison
Roderick Plentyhawk, of Billings: 300 months in prison
Carly Joy James, of Billings: 84 months in prison
Jeffrey Prettypaint, of Crow Agency: 60 months in prison
Darlon Richard Lefthand, of Billings: 84 months in prison
Keilee Shambrae Diaz, of Hardin: 12 months, one day in prison
Zachary Douglas Bacon, of Garryowen: time served
Morgan Luke Hugs, of Hardin: 48 months in prison
Anthony Springfield, of Hardin: time served
Haley James, of Billings: time served
John Littlehead, of Billings: 48 months in prison
Marianna Wallace, of Omak, Washington: 36 months in prison
Yvon Lopez Flores, of Omak, Washington: 48 months in prison
Jacklyn Littlebird, of Lame Deer: time served
Adrienne LaForge, of Lame Deer: 24 months in prison
Geofredo James Littlebird, of Lame Deer: pending sentencing
Nancy Hartsock, of Billings: 72 months in prison
Joe Simpson, of Lame Deer: 240 months in prison
Melanie Bloodman, of Billings: time served
Renita Redfield, of Lodge Grass: 63 months in prison
Daniel Jiminez-Chavez, of Omak, Washington: 84 months in prison
Sayra Longfox, of Lodge Grass: pending sentencing
Emma King, of Lame Deer: pending sentencing
Antonio Infante, of Brewster, Washington: 128 months in prison
Elisha Felicia, of Wyola: 60 months in prison
Nicole Schwalbach, of Billings: 120 months in prison

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Montana

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import Argentina beef

Published

8 hours ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import Argentina beef

HELENA — When President Donald Trump announced a plan last week to import more beef from Argentina, it drew quick criticism from ranchers in Montana. Now, Montana’s members of Congress say they’re pushing the administration to change course.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines told MTN he quickly began hearing from Montanans in the cattle business after reports came out about Trump’s plan.

“The word I would describe is they feel betrayed,” he said.

(Watch the video to hear more reaction from Montana’s congressional delegation.)

Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import beef from Argentina

Daines said Montana beef producers have already been under pressure from drought and market forces. He said this step was “an unforced error” by the administration.

All four members of Montana’s congressional delegation are Republicans. They all say the Republican president’s plan was the wrong direction and that they’ve made that case when speaking with administration leaders.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who represents Montana’s western congressional district, says he understands why Trump wanted to tackle high beef prices, but that this wasn’t the right way for him to do it.

“Having a healthy cattle industry, having a healthy poultry industry and having a healthy supply chain for food is really national security,” he told MTN. “So he understands that, and I think we’re going to see some action in making sure or calming a lot of the fears from the cattlemen out there.”

Earlier this year, Daines visited Argentina and met with its conservative president, Javier Milei, during a South American tour advocating for Trump’s trade policies. He said his opinions on the country and its government don’t play any role in his feelings on this proposed deal.

“I don’t care if this is Argentinian beef or beef coming from anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The answer for what’s going on right now in the markets is not to import more beef – bottom line. It doesn’t matter where it comes from; it happens to be Argentina.”

Daines said it would be better for Montana’s cattle industry for the U.S. to focus on opening export markets rather than import markets. In 2017, Daines celebrated an agreement that led to China buying millions of dollars in Montana beef – but he said Thursday that the country has shut the doors to American beef during the ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration.

“We were shipping over $1 billion a year in beef last year, and now it’s gone to zero,” he said.

In a statement to MTN, Sen. Tim Sheehy said he’s been talking with Trump and his team, looking for a path forward.

“Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “Both can be accomplished by lowering input costs and providing a reliable, pro-growth environment for producers so ranchers can grow their operation, capture more of the value they create, and feed the nation with affordable, healthy, high-quality beef.”

Zinke and Daines say they also see areas where the federal government can make moves that will benefit both Montana ranchers and Montana consumers. Daines wants Congress to do more to tackle the huge market share four large packing companies have in the beef industry – a situation he calls a “monopoly.”

“Our ranchers don’t set the price; that price is set for them,” he said.

Zinke wants to put additional emphasis on country-of-origin labeling for beef.

“In Montana, we have a brand and that brand has value,” he said. “When it’s made in Montana, you know it’s at the top, the quality is there. And our ranchers sell premium product – that’s important.”

Daines said he supports country-of-origin labeling also, though he wants to make sure any additional steps the U.S. takes doesn’t lead to unintended consequences or retribution from countries like Canada.

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Montana

2025 Montana high school football scores week 9

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1 day ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

2025 Montana high school football scores week 9

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Montana

Montana Morning Headlines: Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Published

2 days ago

October 29, 2025

Press Room

WESTERN MONTANA — Here’s a look at Western Montana’s top news stories for Wednesday.

The University of Montana removed Business Professor Anthony Richard Pawlisz from faculty after he was charged with criminal endangerment in Ravalli County court. Pawlisz allegedly pulled a gun on a man and fired a shot into the air after a fight outside of a bar in Florence on Aug. 17, according to court documents. His former class will continue under Professor Udo Fluck. (Read the full story)

Nathaniel Luke Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Monday after posing a threat to Mission High School on Oct. 8, which prompted increased police presence while classes continued. Smith is also serving a three-year deferred sentence for intimidation from an incident in November 2024. (Read the full story)

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he will not be using state funds to temporarily cover SNAP benefits for nearly 78,000 enrolled Montanans if federal funding runs out on Nov. 1. Amidst a government shutdown, he said it’s a federal responsibility — despite calls from Democrats and food banks to use leftover state money. (Read the full story)

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