Montana man sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in methamphetamine trafficking case

MISSOULA, Mont. — A Montana man who admitted possessing methamphetamine for distribution was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, District of Montana, announced this sentence. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI’s Violent Crimes Regional Task Force, Missoula Police Department, Missoula County Sheriff’s Department, and the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

Matthew Curtis Olson, 36, pleaded guilty in July to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Missoula Police Department stopped a pickup truck occupied by Olson and another person, identified as Individual 1, in September 2017. Individual 1 told officers that Olson had spilled meth in the truck earlier. Police arrested Olson for driving with a suspended license and during a search of him, officers found a small amount of meth and a digital scale.

Missoula police officers later executed a search warrant on the truck and found about 420 grams (14.8 ounces) of meth inside a hidden compartment. Individual 1 later claimed ownership of the truck and denied Olson knew of the presence of the large amount of meth that was seized.

From August 2018 to about June 2019, various law enforcement officers in Missoula interviewed a number of cooperating witnesses associated with Olson. Those witnesses said that Olson had possessed with intent to distribute and had distributed more than 500 grams, which is about 1.1 pounds or a little more than 3,624 doses, of meth.

Law enforcement officers arrested Olson Feb. 1 on a federal drug trafficking warrant as he was leaving the home of an associate. Officers seized about one ounce of meth from Olson along with $4,247. Officers also searched the associate’s home and found six ounces of meth and nearly $15,000.

In addition to being sentenced to 144 months in federal prison, Olson was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release, and he forfeited $4,247 that was seized.