BILLINGS - A Billings man who admitted supplying methamphetamine to others in the community was sentenced today to four years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Lynn Robert Kuntz, 46, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth on May 28.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The prosecution said in court documents that in June 2019, drug task force officers learned that a co-defendant, Shawna Bercier, was distributing meth from her workplace in Laurel. Agents set up two controlled purchases with Bercier. In the second purchase, another co-defendant, Patrick Cleveland, provided Bercier with the meth she sold to a confidential informant. Agents followed Cleveland to a Billings residence, which was familiar to agents from previous drug investigations. Agents knew Kuntz lived at this residence and was identified as a meth supplier. Investigators executed a search warrant on Kuntz’s residence and found meth and $7,729 in cash
Cleveland was sentenced in June to six years in prison for his conviction in the case. Bercier has pleaded guilty to charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Patten prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 to 2018. Through PSN, 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
