Thursday, March 28, 2024
45.0°F

Utah man convicted of trafficking meth in Kalispell sentenced

| March 7, 2020 2:00 AM

A Utah man convicted at trial of trafficking methamphetamine in the Kalispell area was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said in a press release.

A jury found Jeremy David Medbery, 34, of Odgen, Utah, guilty of possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen presided.

The prosecution presented evidence at the trial that in January 2016, law enforcement agents in the Kalispell area began getting tips about two men, Medbery and co-defendant Christopher George Nomura, who had arrived from California to distribute meth.

In February 2016, an informant made a controlled purchase of meth from Medbery at a casino in Kalispell. After the transaction, police officers followed Medbery, made a traffic stop on U.S. 93 and arrested him. Agents executed search warrants on Medbery’s truck and residence. In the truck was a plastic bag with meth residue. A safe in Medbery’s bedroom contained a plastic bag with meth and another bag with residue.

Medbery admitted to officers he drove from California with co-defendant, Christopher Nomura, and brought meth for his personal use. Several days later, Nomura was arrested. Nomura was convicted in the case and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the North Western Drug Task Force, Kalispell Police Department, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.