Box Elder Meth King Issac Saenz Sentenced to Over 11 Years

GREAT FALLS — Issac Elias Saenz, a 28-year-old Box Elder man, has been sentenced to more than eleven years in prison for his role in the meth trade on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. The sentence includes an 11-year and six-month term plus five years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Saenz, who pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, faced the court’s wrath after law enforcement discovered 60 grams of meth and a firearm during a traffic stop in January 2018.

The vehicle, which had been reported stolen from Billings, was stopped at a residence on the reservation. A search warrant executed on the scene uncovered the illegal substances and firearm hidden under the front passenger seat. DNA evidence linked Saenz to the firearm.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the sentencing, which is part of Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence and violent crime across Montana. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in the state has surged by 36% from 2013 through 2018.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassady Adams prosecuted the case, while the FBI, Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services, the Tri-Agency Drug Task Force, and the Rocky Boy’s Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.

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