A Whitefish man recently pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a methamphetamine distribution charge.
Kenneth Daniel Chrestensen, 27, entered his plea in front of U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy on July 19. According to confidential sources in the case, Chrestensen trafficked dozens of pounds of meth from California to Flathead County from the spring of 2010 to October 2011.
In March 2011, law enforcement received a tip that Chrestensen was among several people in Kalispell involved in trafficking pound quantities of meth to the area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, the state Department of Justice’s Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations began a joint investigation into the Kalispell group in August 2011.
A source in the investigation said they received 39 pounds of meth from Chrestensen from spring of 2010 to October 2011, including half a pound of the drug on the night the source was arrested in late October.
This same source said they bought 4 to 8 ounces of meth from Chrestensen or one of his employees on about 20 different occasions, paying Chrestensen in person for the drugs.
Investigators also interviewed another source, who said they made several trips to California with another person to buy pounds of meth from Chrestensen, and then brought it back to Flathead County for distribution.
The sources said they would serve as muscle for collecting debt from drug dealers and users, and would deposit money in Chrestensen’s bank account.
Chrestensen faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life; a $10 million fine, and 5 years supervised release. He will be sentenced on Oct. 26.