Washington woman sentenced for meth trafficking on Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, Great Falls
GREAT FALLS – A Washington woman who admitted trafficking methamphetamine on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and in Great Falls was sentenced on March 3 to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.
Georgie Elaine Russell, 41, of Spokane, Washington, pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 2020 to possession with intent to distribute meth.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Russell was detained.
The government alleged in court documents filed in the case that the Great Falls Police Department learned in January 2020 that Russell was on federal supervised release for a meth conviction in the Eastern District of Washington and was trafficking meth from Washington to the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and Great Falls. During an approved trip to Montana in January 2020, law enforcement made a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Russell was a passenger. The vehicle was impounded, and a search warrant was obtained. Officers found an air-sealed bag that contained approximately 222 grams of meth, or nearly one half pound of meth.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Plaut prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services and Great Falls Police Department.
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 48% from 2013 to 2019. 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.
