Alex Stephen Schmidt, Heroin and Methamphetamine Trafficking, Missoula, MT, 2021

MISSOULA — Two Washington men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a heroin and methamphetamine trafficking operation in the Missoula area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Alex Stephen Schmidt, 50, of Colville, Washington, was sentenced to six and one half years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Schmidt pleaded guilty in September 2022 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Co-defendant Richmond James McKee, 52, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. McKee pleaded guilty in October 2022 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The investigation began in October 2021, when law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle McKee was driving on Interstate 90 in Montana. The vehicle belonged to Schmidt. In a later search of the vehicle, officers found heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, a firearm and drug paraphernalia.

The investigation determined that a confidential informant assisted Schmidt with selling drugs and that Schmidt was the individual who normally obtained the drugs.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force, the Montana Highway Patrol and Missoula County Sheriff’s Office.

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.