GREAT FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that 62-year old Jack Tome of Great Falls was sentenced to 72 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing.
In the spring of 2016, the Russell County Drug Task Force began investigating the defendant, Jack Tome, for distributing methamphetamine. The defendant shared a house in Great Falls with his girlfriend, and law enforcement was aware that numerous individuals frequented the home in order to obtain methamphetamine. Other sources told the police that the defendant conducted the majority of his methamphetamine business in the detached garage of the house.
On September 8, 2016, detectives received information that the defendant had traveled to Washington to obtain methamphetamine with Juan Magana. The following day, detectives observed Magana drop the defendant off at his home in Great Falls. Detectives then obtained a search warrant for the home and garage, and found the defendant weighing methamphetamine and dividing it into smaller quantities. Magana was previously convicted and sentenced for his involvement in this drug crime.
The defendant spoke with detectives and acknowledged he had been receiving methamphetamine from Magana. He also explained that he was expecting customers for the methamphetamine he had just received at the time the detectives executed the search warrant. The defendant said he typically purchased an ounce of methamphetamine from Magana for $800, and resold the methamphetamine for $50 a half-gram, $100 a gram, and $275 for 3.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Detectives seized three baggies of methamphetamine from the defendant’s coat pockets. Detectives also seized a bag of methamphetamine from a shop table in the garage, and a bag of methamphetamine from the defendant’s pants pocket. In total, detectives seized 71.39 grams of actual methamphetamine from the defendant.
Tome has a history of felony drug convictions.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Betley and investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and the Russell Country Drug Task Force.
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
