Timothy J. Racicot Acting United States Attorney for the District of Montana | Wikipedia
A woman from Coram, Montana, has pleaded guilty to drug charges related to methamphetamine distribution on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced that Heather Marie Kushmaul, 37, admitted to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Kushmaul faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years up to life imprisonment, along with a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris is overseeing the case and will decide the sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for October 8, 2025. Kushmaul was released under certain conditions until further proceedings.
According to court documents, law enforcement discovered that starting in May 2024, Kushmaul and her co-defendant traveled from their home in Coram to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to deliver significant quantities of methamphetamine. In October 2024, authorities organized three controlled purchases of large amounts of methamphetamine from the defendants. During these transactions, Kushmaul and her co-defendant made trips from Coram to the reservation to exchange drugs for money.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah Paisley prosecuted the case, which involved an investigation by the FBI, BIA, DEA, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, and Glacier County Sheriff’s Office.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy on May 26, 2021, strengthening PSN with core principles such as fostering community trust and legitimacy and supporting community-based violence prevention organizations.
For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.
