Ryan Edward Lee, Drug, Gun Crimes, Montana 2014

A Fairview man has been sentenced to 270 months in prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine trafficking ring in eastern Montana.

Ryan Edward Lee, 32, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Billings to 22 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

According to the government, Lee was involved in a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine from November 2013 to January 9, 2014. Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the trafficking ring, which was active in the Bakken Fields.

Using informants and controlled exchanges, agents observed Lee deliver methamphetamine to another individual on two separate occasions. After the first sale, Lee was pulled over by the Montana Highway Patrol for traffic violations. He provided false identification and received a warning.

After the second sale, the Montana Highway Patrol again stopped Lee’s vehicle. A pat-down search of Lee revealed $2,500 in cash in his pocket. Once placed in the back of the patrol car, Lee kicked out a window and attempted to escape by fleeing on foot. He was eventually apprehended.

During a search of Lee’s vehicle, law enforcement officers discovered a metal flip container with a digital scale and approximately 2 oz. of methamphetamine among other items and drug paraphernalia. They also found a loaded .380 semi-automatic pistol lodged between the seat and center console. A trace on the handgun revealed that Lee had purchased it several months earlier using a false identification and a false name.

In addition to his prison sentence, Lee was also found to have attempted to escape from the Yellowstone County Detention Facility while in custody.

The prosecution was part of Project Safe Bakken, a cooperative effort between federal and state prosecutors and federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in Montana and North Dakota. The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Montana Division of Criminal Investigations, Montana Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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