From the Courts - FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT: Man admits distributing meth on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

  GREAT FALLS — A Hays man accused of selling methamphetamine from a yellow school bus he used as his residence on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation admitted to a drug trafficking charge Thursday, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Lyle Gilbert Snow Sr., 64, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth. Snow faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and at least three years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for July 31. Snow was detained pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that in April 2022, the FBI received information that Snow was selling meth on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and had been selling gram quantities since at least 2021 from the yellow school bus in which he lived. Law enforcement made a series of controlled purchases of meth from Snow. In June 2023, law enforcement served a federal search warrant on the yellow school bus and recovered a loaded .270-caliber rifle, ammunition and a flip phone. Messages on the phone indicated drug trafficking. While the search was under way, law enforcement saw Snow pull off the highway and begin to drive down his driveway. When he saw law enforcement, Snow pulled out of the driveway and began traveling away from his residence. Snow was pulled over a because he was driving with a suspended license. Snow possessed $1,537 in cash, including $20 bills identified as having been used in a controlled buy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda L. Myers is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation.