MISSOULA—A California man who admitted that two pounds of meth found during a traffic stop were his was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Tony Gregory Amador Ortiz, 25, of Rancho Cordova, CA, pleaded guilty in October to possession with intent to distribute meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.

The prosecution said in court records that an undercover surveillance operation by Missoula drug task force officers on July 15, 2019 led to a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Ortiz was a passenger. In a search of the vehicle, officers found two pounds of meth. Ortiz admitted the meth belonged to him. Two pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 7,248 doses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 to 2018. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.

XXX

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on July 16 was:

Seth James Todd, 25, of Laurel, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Todd faces a minimum mandatory five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Todd was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI task force and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Pacer case reference. 19-89.

Appearing on July 18 were:

Alejandro Herrera-Garcia, 34, of Watsonville, CA, and Mariano Herrera-Garcia, 45, of Royal Oaks, CA, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Both defendants were released pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI West Task Force. Pacer case reference. 16-119.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch and pleading not guilty on July 16 was:

Jose Daniel Ramirez, also known as Jose Danny Ramirez, 56, of Missoula, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a drug user. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ramirez faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Ramirez was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and Montana Probation and Parole. Pacer case reference. 19-26.

Scott Michael Todd, 36, of Missoula, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a drug user. If convicted of the most serious crime, Todd faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Todd was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missoula Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole. Pacer case reference. 19-25.

Gregory Scott Tolley, 58, of Superior, on charges of prohibited person in possession of firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Tolley faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Tolley was detained pending further proceedings. The case was investigated by the FBI, Montana Violent Crime Task Force, Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missoula Police Department. Pacer case reference. 19-27.

Appearing for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint on July 17 was:

Tony Gregory Amador Ortiz, hometown unknown, on charges of possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ortiz faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. Ortiz was detained pending further proceedings. The case in being investigated by the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Pacer case reference. 19-49.

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

 XXX