Sentencing in Bakken Drug Case Friday
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man faces sentencing Friday in federal court on charges he led an interstate meth-trafficking ring that exploited workers in eastern Montana's oil patch.
Robert Farrell Armstrong of Moses Lake, Washington, will appear before U.S. District Judge Susan Watters in Billings.
Under a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Prosecutors want Armstrong sent to prison for roughly two decades.
They say the 50-year-old defendant ran a network of dealers and enforcers selling large quantities of almost-pure meth in eastern Montana.
Armstrong's public defender, Anthony Gallagher, is seeking a 10-year sentence. Gallagher says prosecutors overstated Armstrong's leadership role in the trafficking ring.
Eleven others arrested with Armstrong last year were previously sentenced.