The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on April 18, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, TALEAH COLLEEN RALSTON, a 28-year-old resident of Hardin/Billings, appeared for sentencing. RALSTON was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: time served
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 4 years
RALSTON was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
RALSTON came to the attention of law enforcement in Big Horn County and on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations as a distributor of methamphetamine for Leroy Smith beginning in approximately 2006.
When questioned, RALSTON admitted that she had been part of the conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine for Smith during the time when she was dating his son and co-defendant Justin Smith. RALSTON withdrew from the conspiracy a significant time prior to her arrest. Both Leroy Smith and Justin Smith also implicated RALSTON as one of Leroy Smith's distributors of methamphetamine for a period of time within the conspiracy.
Leroy Smith and Justin Smith pled guilty to federal charges.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
