Page 25 - Flathead Beacon // 6.24.15

At issue in the case is a 6,200-acre energy lease in northwest Montana’s Badger-Two Medicine National Forest, immediately south of Glacier. Owned by Solenex LLC of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the lease has been suspended since the 1990s.
Solenex, represented by the conserva- tive Mountain States Legal Foundation of Colorado, sued in 2013 to overturn the suspension. It wants to begin drilling for gas this summer.
The Badger-Two Medicine area is the home of the creation story of the four Blackfoot tribes in Canada and Montana and the Sun Dance that is central to their religion. The land is part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest, but it is not on Montana’s Blackfeet Reservation.
Blackfoot leaders have asked Inte- rior Secretary Sally Jewell to cancel the leases.
POLSON
4. Family Walks Away from Small Plane Crash
Authorities say a Colorado family, including a 2-year-old boy, walked away from a single-engine plane crash near Polson last week.
Lake County Sheriff Don Bell tells The Missoulian the pilot, who is the boy’s father, reported engine failure as the plane approached Polson Airport on June 19. The man tried to glide the plane toward a large field, but strong head- winds forced him to crash land in a much smaller field.
The plane’s front landing gear was wiped out in the crash, and the propeller, nose, tail and one wing were damaged.
Bell says the family declined medical treatment, but “they’ll probably have the typical seatbelt marks” that come with a sudden stop.
Investigators have not released the names of anyone involved.
GREAT FALLS
5. Leader in California-to-Montana Meth Ring Sentenced
A judge on June 18 sentenced a leader in a drug ring that prosecutors say flooded central Montana with high-grade meth- amphetamine from California, marking the end of an investigation that resulted in the arrest and conviction of 20 people.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sen- tenced Joshua Alberto Rodriguez, 29, of Los Angeles to 22 1/2 years in prison. Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to dis- tribute methamphetamine, conspiracy involving firearm and drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Bet- ley described Rodriguez as the kingpin who made at least 13 trips to Great Falls in 2014. He would hand off pounds of nearly pure meth that he had transported in rental cars and stick around town until others had sold the drug from Havre to Butte and brought him the profits.
Rodriguez, speaking through an inter- preter, apologized but told the judge that he was not the leader of the organization
as he asked for a lighter sentence.
“I’m sorry to all of Montana for hav- ing brought what I brought here,” he told Morris. “I am guilty, but not of being the
boss.”
Prosecutors estimated the drug ring
sold 50 pounds of methamphetamine in Montana between 2013 and 2014, and authorities seized an additional 13 pounds when they moved in to shut it down in September. Great Falls Police Detective Jason Gange estimated Rodri- guez bought the drugs for $3,000 a pound in California and sold them for $17,000 to $20,000 a pound in Montana.
The judge noted that others may be willing to pick up the supply chain now that this ring is busted, given the oppor- tunity to make large profits in Montana. State residents can’t blame outsiders alone for bringing the drug problem here, as there were plenty of locals willing to participate in the operation, he said.
“We have to look ourselves in the eye,” Morris said.
U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter said the investigation dismantled “an acute and violent threat” to Great Falls and sur- rounding areas, but he acknowledged in a news conference that other dealers have stepped in since the bust. He declined to elaborate.
The drugs appear to have been manu- factured in Mexico and were sold uncut in Montana, said Joseph Kirkland of the Drug Enforcement Agency
Investigators used search warrants, a wiretap, physical surveillance and finan- cial documents to learn the details of the operation. They also tracked Rodriguez’s trips to Montana through the GPS on his phone.
The investigation culminated with the September 2014 arrests of Rodriguez and Eduardo Ocegueda-Ruiz in Great Falls. Prosecutors said Rodriguez brought in Ocegueda-Ruiz to intimidate others in the ring who were ripping off Rodriguez.
A total of 25 guns were seized, includ- ing 10 found in Rodriguez’s California home. Rodriguez would trade drugs for guns or take guns to pay off a drug debt, prosecutors said.
CULBERTSON
6. Zinke’s Sister Faces Drug Paraphernalia Charge
The younger sister of Montana U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke was arrested after offi- cers found methamphetamine in a vehi- cle during a northeastern Montana traf- fic stop.
Dahra L. Zinke of Kalispell was arrested June 15. She appeared before Justice of the Peace Penny Hendrickson in Culbertson on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering the welfare of a child in the car. She posted a $1,170 bond.
Hendrickson said Thursday that Dahra Zinke requested a public defender. Her next hearing won’t be set until she has an attorney. The Associated Press could not locate a phone number for Zinke to seek comment. The driver — 19-year-old Nico- demus A. Kupka of Watford City, North Dakota — was charged with criminal pos- session of methamphetamine.
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