California drug dealer sentenced to 30 years in prison for meth, fentanyl trafficking in Butte, Helena communities

MISSOULA - A California man convicted by a federal jury of trafficking pounds of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills in the Butte and Helena communities as part of a large conspiracy was sentenced today to 30 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

After a four-day trial in April, a jury found the defendant, Juan Felipe Vidrio Fuentes, 36, of Anaheim, California, guilty of conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.

"Fuentes thought he could use his California connections to set up a drug trafficking ring to profit at the expense and misery of Montanans to whom he peddled meth and fentanyl pills. He was wrong. Fuentes, and all of those charged in this conspiracy, stand convicted of drug trafficking crimes, and can no longer poison our communities. These convictions would not have happened without the extraordinary collaboration and diligence of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, for which I am grateful," U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.

In court documents, the government alleged that from June 2022 until about January 2023 in the Butte and Helena areas, Fuentes, along with seven other co-defendants, conspired to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. In June 2022, the Utah Highway Patrol stopped an individual traveling in a vehicle carrying 3.5 pounds of meth and 6,000 pills containing fentanyl and learned that the individual was transporting the drugs to Butte for distribution by "Esco," who was Fuentes. Law enforcement further learned that Fuentes was staying at a house in Whitehall along with at least one co-defendant, James Andrew Stringari, of Whitehall, and that Fuentes was supplying both fentanyl and meth throughout the Butte area from the Whitehall residence. In addition, law enforcement inspected a source's cell phone and corroborated information about meth and fentanyl trafficking that implicated Fuentes, Stringari, co-defendant Janet Dean White, of Butte, and another co-defendant. Stringari and White were convicted at trial with Fuentes and are pending sentencing.

Law enforcement conducted coordinated stops and raids of addresses in Helena and Butte. In the Butte residence, law enforcement located approximately six pounds of meth, 208 grams of fentanyl, $15,000 cash and seven firearms. In the Helena residence, law enforcement located approximately seven pounds of meth and 68 grams of fentanyl.

The government further alleged that Fuentes was one of the main organizers and suppliers of the criminal conspiracy, which trafficked pounds of meth and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills over approximately six months.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Southwest Montana Drug Task Force, Montana Highway Patrol, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Missouri River Drug Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Utah Highway Patrol and Utah State Bureau of Investigations conducted the investigation.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

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