Man sentenced for meth distribution

A 20-year-old Columbia Falls man was sentenced Oct. 25 to 70 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute.

U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen also ordered Lucas Brennan to four years of supervised release.

The case began Feb. 26 when agents from the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations were told by a man in Kalispell that he had found a large amount of meth in his bathroom.

The man said the meth belonged to Ramon Gaspar-Ochoa, who was staying at the residence and carried large amounts of cash. He also said he saw Gaspar-Ochoa and Brennan remove meth from the engine compartment of a white Cadillac Deville.

A search of the residence the next day turned up one pound of meth under the stairs. The man told agents Brennan had asked if three friends from Phoenix could stay at the residence. The man admitted he knew they were transporting drugs and that he would get new clothes and money for letting them stay at his home.

Agents later determined that Gaspar-Ochoa had transported about three pounds of meth from Arizona to Montana. He’s already been sentenced in federal court.