HELENA - Brandon James LeClair, a 42-year-old Butte resident, was sentenced today to 168 months in prison followed by 5 years supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm on Oct. 17, 2017. U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell handed down the sentence.
LeClair trafficked an ounce of methamphetamine each week from October 2016 until mid-December 2016 with his codefendant, Travis Stephens. Their drug trafficking allegedly stopped after LeClair stole a safe from Stephens in mid-December 2016. The safe contained one pound of methamphetamine and approximately $10,000.
On Jan. 25, 2017, law enforcement was called to their Helena area motel room to investigate a violent confrontation. At that time, LeClair possessed a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol. LeClair’s criminal history includes two prior federal convictions for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in May 1999, and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm in August 2007. LeClair was held responsible for distributing 12 ounces of methamphetamine. That converts to 2718 individual doses of the drug.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart and investigated by the Missouri River Drug Task Force, Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Agency and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
