John Meade Ogburn was sentenced in federal court on Oct. 24 to 13 years and eight months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised for trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl pills, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl.
Drug task force officers learned in the fall of 2023 that Ogburn was supplying meth and fentanyl and in November 2023, officers intercepted a package that contained 1,757 fentanyl pills and determined that Ogburn had arranged the shipment, according to court documents.
Great Falls man federally charged for drug trafficking
The investigation led to a traffic stop in early February 2024 of two vehicles, one driven by Ogburn and another driven by his girlfriend, traveling back to Montana from Washington, according to court documents.
During a search, law enforcement found about two pounds of meth wired under the vehicle driven by Ogburn’s girlfriend and he admitted in a recorded jail call to placing the meth under the vehicle and that his girlfriend didn’t know it was there, according to court documents.
He was on supervised release for a previous federal drug offense in which he served more than a decade in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Great Falls man admits federal charges related to having more than 100 pounds of meth
“Repeat federal felons will be pursued aggressively, especially drug traffickers. After previously serving federal time, Ogburn resumed his criminal lifestyle, trafficked large quantities of fentanyl pills and meth in Montana and has earned a stiffer federal prison sentence. We remain undeterred in holding repeat drug dealers, like Ogburn, accountable,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said in a release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
Conner sentenced in fentanyl trafficking case
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Russell Country Drug Task Force, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Great Falls Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on core principles of fostering trust and legitimacy in communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
