Butte woman receives 10 years for drug distribution

MISSOULA — A Butte woman who admitted distributing methamphetamine after being arrested multiple times and found to be in possession of the drug, large amounts of cash and firearms was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Missoula to 10 years and one month in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The defendant, Jeri Angeline Phillips, 36, pleaded guilty in July to possession with intent to distribute meth.

The government alleged that between October 2021 and March 2023, officers working with the Drug Enforcement Administration stopped Phillips on three separate occasions and seized a total of about $58,000 in cash and distribution quantities of meth.

In addition, law enforcement seized a total of five firearms from her vehicle and residence. On one of the occasions, law enforcement observed Phillips distributing meth to a customer in Rocker.

When law enforcement stopped her vehicle, they located about 85 grams of meth, about $37,000 cash, a handgun in her purse and a digital scale in the trunk. A witness reported Phillips intended to use the cash to purchase 17 pounds of meth in Washington. Law enforcement monitoring Phillips learned that during this period, Phillips had made multiple trips out of state to resupply her drug distribution cache. The government attributed about 11.8 kilograms, or nearly 25 pounds and about 94,079 doses, of meth to Phillips.

The DEA, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.