Marcus Lejon Williams, Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Meth, Montana 2023

MISSOULA, MT – Marcus Lejon Williams, 45, is headed to federal prison for a decade after admitting he was a major player in funneling methamphetamine into Missoula. Williams was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen after pleading guilty in December 2023 to attempted possession with intent to distribute meth.

The bust started with a tip and a package. Law enforcement received intel that Williams was moving significant amounts of the drug and receiving shipments via the U.S. Postal Service. In January 2022, a Postal Inspector flagged a suspicious package addressed to Williams’ residence containing roughly 1,000 grams – 2.2 pounds – of methamphetamine. Records showed two similar packages had arrived from California in May and September of 2021.

Rather than intercepting the package directly, investigators opted for a controlled delivery. Williams and an associate showed up in a parking lot to claim the package, unaware it had been emptied of its illicit contents. A subsequent search of Williams’ home turned up a 9mm handgun. Williams quickly confessed the package was intended for him, and that he’d been sourcing methamphetamine from a contact in California for six to seven years.

This wasn’t a small-time operation. Williams admitted to being “in the game” for 25 or 26 years, and estimated his profits at a cool $120,000 to $130,000. He claimed he was tired of the life, but the scale of his operation suggests otherwise. The handgun, he said, was for “protection.”

The case was built by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missoula Police Department, and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer S. Clark prosecuted the case. Federal officials are framing the conviction as a win for Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence.

Williams will serve 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. While the bust takes a key dealer off the streets, it’s a grim reminder of the relentless flow of methamphetamine into Montana, and the profits that continue to fuel the trade. The source in California remains at large, and investigators haven’t ruled out further charges.

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