Trevor Allen Handy, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Montana 2024

BUTTE, MT – Trevor Allen Handy, 27, of Butte, Montana, is headed to federal prison after admitting to his central role in a massive drug trafficking operation that pumped methamphetamine and fentanyl into the state. Handy was sentenced today to three years and six months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Lowney, unravelled after a June 2022 traffic stop in Utah revealed a haul of four pounds of methamphetamine, one pound of heroin, and 6,000 fentanyl pills. The driver implicated a drug trafficking organization headed by Juan Felipe Vidrio Fuentes, aka “Esco,” with distribution focused in Butte. Investigators quickly learned the group moved their poison both by vehicle and through the U.S. Postal Service.

Handy was arrested in January 2023 after receiving a package containing roughly 3,000 fentanyl pills. He confessed to accepting multiple drug shipments at his Butte residence and making personal trips to California to collect pounds of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills, transporting the deadly cargo back to Montana for distribution. The scale of the operation is staggering: investigators seized approximately 18 pounds of methamphetamine – equivalent to 65,232 doses – and 4.85 pounds of fentanyl during searches of two Butte locations linked to the organization. But authorities admit the total amount Handy pushed onto Montana streets is far greater, considering his admitted distribution of drugs not recovered.

The bust wasn’t limited to Handy. Co-defendants Juan Felipe Vidrio Fuentes, 36, of Anaheim, California; James Andrew Stringari, 51, of Whitehall; and Janet Dean White, 57, of Butte, were all found guilty on April 25 in a federal jury trial of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and are awaiting sentencing. Four others – Martin Topete Garcia, 32, and Johnathan Topete, 28, both of Mira Loma, California; Anthony Wayne Johnson II, 51, of Santa Ana, California; and Agatha Noriz Carranza, 34, of Whitehall – have already pleaded guilty and await their fate.

Along with the drugs, law enforcement recovered $17,500 in cash and seven firearms from the Butte locations. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich didn’t mince words, stating, “Individuals like Mr. Handy continue to terrorize communities like Butte by transporting and mailing staggering quantities of illegal drugs and poisoning Montana citizens.” Laslovich hopes the sentence will deter others, but the relentless flow of fentanyl continues to grip the nation.

The investigation was a multi-agency effort involving the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Southwest Montana Drug Task Force, Montana Highway Patrol, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri River Drug Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The ATF played a role in the investigation, highlighting the increasing overlap between drug trafficking and weapons offenses.

Related Federal Cases