From the Courts: Havre man sentenced to prison for trafficking meth in Great Falls, Havre areas

From U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana

GREAT FALLS — A Havre man who admitted dealing methamphetamine for two years was sentenced today to 66 months in prison and five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.

Terry Lee Wells, Jr., 34, pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to possession with intent to distribute meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The prosecution said in court documents that in December 2019, law enforcement had been receiving information about Wells’ involvement in drugs and crime around Great Falls, the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and Havre and began searching for him.

Law enforcement in Havre began to review phone calls from the Hill County Jail and identified numerous inmates who had been calling Wells. Detectives learned through this information that Wells had made a quick trip from Great Falls to Seattle and back in early December.

On Dec. 19, 2019, detectives found Wells driving north from Great Falls to Havre and attempted to stop him. Wells fled and crashed his car. Officers took Wells to the Hill County Jail, where officers found a small baggie of meth.

During an interview with agents on Jan. 6, 2020, Wells admitted he had begun dealing meth in 2017 and continued dealing meth through out 2019. He also admitted he had driven to Seattle on Dec. 5, 2019 to buy meth for redistribution in Montana.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Great Falls Police Department and the Tri-Agency Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 48 percent from 2013 to 2019. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.