HELENA-A Washington man who admitted supplying methamphetamine for drug runs to Montana in 2018 was sentenced today to 17 years and six months in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Hugo Yanez, 38, of Everett, WA, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth.
Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell presided.
The prosecution said in court documents filed in the case that in an interview in 2019 with law enforcement, Yanez said that he and a co-defendant, Breanne Bame, of Kenmore, WA, moved into the residence of a third co-defendant, Tavia Dion Blume, of Monroe, WA. Yanez admitted to supplying narcotics for Blume to distribute on four trips to Montana.
In December 2018, the Montana Highway Patrol stopped a vehicle driven by Blume and occupied by a fourth co-defendant, Kyle Douglas Alverson, of Lake Stevens, WA, east of Missoula. During a search of the vehicle, officers found firearms, ammunition, about 1.5 pounds of meth and U.S. currency. One and a half pounds of meth is the equivalent of 5,436 doses.
Blume was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Alverson was sentenced to 14 years and 11 months in prison for their convictions in the case. Bame was sentenced to 97 months for her conviction in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Montana Highway Patrol and the Missouri River Drug Task Force.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, the USDOJ’s initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 through 2018. Through these initiatives, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
