A convicted felon arrested in Polson last year is facing federal drug and weapons charges after a large amount of methamphetamine was discovered in a Tupperware container inside his home.
Russell Joseph Breton was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm in U.S. District Court in Missoula earlier this month. Breton was conditionally released from custody on Feb. 10. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the drug distribution charge.
According to court filings, investigators were given information that Breton was dealing meth in October 2020 and told he had “ounces for days” in a large Tupperware container at his home. On Oct. 20, Flathead Tribal Police and other agencies attempted to execute a search warrant at that Polson home when Breton fired a handgun into the floor. Officers later subdued Breton with a taser after he was observed holding the gun to his own head.
Shortly after he was detained, Breton admitted that “user amounts” of meth, heroin and marijuana were inside his home, but when investigators conducted a search they found a great deal more, including 629 grams (more than 22 ounces) of meth and 24 grams of heroin inside a plastic container. When officers showed Breton the container, he asked, “what is that?”
In addition to the container, investigators also found meth in a vehicle on Breton’s property, a roll of vacuum seal bags, a digital scale, three meth pipes, a marijuana pipe, $6,515 cash and several firearms. According to court documents, Breton has several prior felony convictions in California and was aware he was not allowed to possess firearms.
The firearm charge carries a penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.