Multi-pound meth dealer sentenced to prison

BILLINGS—A Laurel man accused of providing at least 15 pounds of methamphetamine for distribution in the community as part of a large trafficking organization was sentenced today to six and one-half years in prison and five years of supervised release, said U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Tyson Allen Gilmore, 27, pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute meth.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

Gilmore was among individuals in a drug trafficking conspiracy that included Billings resident Joshua Clause, who was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison for conviction on meth and firearms crimes, the prosecution said. After Clause’s arrest in August 2018, a source told law enforcement that Clause directed him to go to his house and remove 12 pounds of meth. Clause’s co-conspirators gave the meth to the Gilmore. One of Clause’s co-conspirators told agents that Gilmore provided him with 15 pounds of meth for distribution in the Billings area, while another co-conspirator admitted getting one and a half pounds of meth from Gilmore for re-distribution. Sixteen and a half pounds is the equivalent of about 59,796 doses.

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

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.