Musselshell County, Montana Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Methamphetamine From Washington
BILLINGS, Montana — The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana announced that Jeffrey Frederic Nelson, 57, of Musselshell County, Montana, was sentenced on October 29, 2026, to nine years in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking significant amounts of methamphetamine into Montana. U.S. Attorney Scott Twito announced the sentence.
Nelson pleaded guilty in March 2026 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
The government alleged in court documents that Nelson and a partner, William Thomas Duncan, regularly traveled to Washington to pick up methamphetamine, bringing it back to Montana to sell. Duncan was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison in July 2026 on trafficking charges.
Law enforcement first learned of the trafficking activity in October 2025 while investigating Nelson. An undercover agent, using phone numbers associated with Nelson and Duncan, bought multiple pounds of methamphetamine from Nelson in January 2026.
Agents surveilled the two phone numbers and discovered the pair making regular trips to Washington to resupply their stash of methamphetamine. The undercover agent again arranged to buy methamphetamine from the two men. On January 22, 2026, law enforcement served a search warrant on Duncan's residence in Roundup, where they discovered two pounds of methamphetamine, several phones, and over 30 guns. In an interview with law enforcement, Duncan admitted to trafficking the methamphetamine with Nelson.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Godfrey prosecuted the case. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the case falls under the Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 蒙大拿州 Billings 的联邦法院大楼（判刑法院所在地，资料图）。Sara goth 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The federal courthouse in Billings, Montana (file photo). Photo by Sara goth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
