BILLINGS — A Lame Deer man who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine was sentenced today to two years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Laymond Perry Brien, 38, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to possession with intent to distribute meth.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in October 2020, Bureau of Indian Affairs patrol officers responded to a tip of an intoxicated driver in a Saturn near Busby, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Officers initiated a traffic stop, but the car fled and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase through Lame Deer, with the car going 72 mph in a 25-mph zone. The car eventually got stuck on a muddy back road, and the driver and Brien, who was a passenger, attempted to flee on foot. Officers caught Brien, and in a search of him, found baggies of meth and a digital scale. Officers also found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number under the passenger seat, where Brien had been sitting.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanne Torske prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the BIA.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
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