A 59-year-old Browning man convicted by a federal jury of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of a man in his home on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Douglas Darren Malatare in September was found guilty of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl following a three-day trial.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
According to court documents and trial testimony, the mother of the 49-year-old victim found him deceased in the bathroom in the residence they shared on Nov. 19, 2022.
During an investigation, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services and the Glacier County coroner found blue powder and a straw on top of a dresser. The victim’s mother told investigators her son had been at the residence the evening before when Malatare had visited, according to documents.
Following the visit, the victim and his mother ate dinner and noted her son had a hard time staying awake. She later found him unresponsive in the bathroom.
An autopsy revealed the victim died from acute fentanyl intoxication, records state.
Authorities later discovered a text message exchange between the victim and Malatare that appeared to be plans for a drug transaction.
The investigation revealed that Malatare began bringing fentanyl from Washington to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in September 2022 and made several quick trips back and forth until December of 2022.
On Dec. 17, 2022, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services arrested Malatare during a traffic stop when a K-9 alerted on his vehicle, which was seized for a search warrant.
Malatare was arrested tribally for fentanyl pills he had in his personal pouch. While in the Browning jail, Malatare bragged to a cellmate that he was buying pills in Washington and selling them in Montana for much higher rates.
Law enforcement found hundreds of fentanyl pills in a search of Malatare’s vehicle.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, DEA, and FBI conducted the investigation.