California man sentenced to 20 years in prison for armed fentanyl trafficking in Butte, Helena communities

MISSOULA - A California man who admitted to mailing thousands of fentanyl pills to co-conspirators in the Butte area for redistribution and to possessing a firearm as part of a large trafficking operation was sentenced on Aug. 27 to 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

The defendant, Anthony Wayne Johnson, II, 47, pleaded guilty in April to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

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

The government alleged in court documents that Johnson II was part of a large conspiracy that brought fentanyl and methamphetamine to the Butte and Helena communities. The drug trafficking organization would transport meth from California to Montana by using co-conspirators to drive large amounts of meth between the states. The investigation also determined that the organization mailed packages of fentanyl pills from California to Montana. The government further alleged that in November 2022, Johnson II mailed three packages to co-conspirators in Butte for distribution. Two of the packages were intercepted by law enforcement in Montana and were found to contain approximately 9,000 fentanyl pills. The third package was delivered to one of the heads of the conspiracy, and a co-conspirator who was present when the package was opened, observed that it contained approximately 8,000 fentanyl pills. In January 2023, law enforcement arrested Johnson II at a hotel in Butte. In his hotel room, law enforcement found a firearm under the mattress as well as fentanyl on Johnson II's person. Johnson II admitted his DNA would be on the firearm.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

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