BILLINGS — Rocky Rollin Bettin, a 39-year-old man from Billings, Montana, is headed to federal prison for 15 years after being sentenced today on methamphetamine trafficking charges. U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters handed down the 180-month sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, after Bettin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine.
The investigation began in December 2016, when federal and local drug task force agents launched an operation targeting a network flooding the Billings area with meth. Multiple informants pointed directly at Bettin as a primary supplier, building a case that would span months and cross county lines. Authorities zeroed in on patterns of distribution, tracking movements and transactions linked to Bettin’s operation.
The break came on June 2, 2017, when a Missoula County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle near Frenchtown. Bettin was behind the wheel. A search of the car turned up a backpack stuffed with approximately 1.5 kilograms—3.3 pounds—of pure methamphetamine. The seizure represented not just a major drug load, but a direct line to one of eastern Montana’s key distributors.
Law enforcement officials from the FBI Transnational Organized Crime Western Task Force and the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force spearheaded the investigation. The collaboration underscores the federal push to dismantle regional drug networks feeding addiction and violence in rural communities across the state.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a reinvigorated Department of Justice initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through targeted prosecutions. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana is working hand-in-hand with federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to identify and lock up those driving the cycle of drug-related violence.
Bettin’s 15-year sentence sends a clear message: large-scale drug trafficking will be met with maximum consequences. With meth continuing to ravage communities across Montana, law enforcement is drawing a hard line—and Bettin’s conviction marks another body in the wreckage of a crumbling underground empire.
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Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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