MISSOULA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
MISSOULA — A federal judge on Oct. 22 sentenced two brothers from California to lengthy prison terms for their roles in a large trafficking ring that distributed pounds of methamphetamine and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills in the Butte and Helena communities, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
Defendant Martin Topete, 33, of Mira Loma, California, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Topete’s brother, Johnathan Topete, 28, of Mira Loma, California, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Both defendants pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. The Topete brothers are the last defendants in the case to be sentenced.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
“Drugs, cash, and guns. Virtually every case we prosecute includes each of these, but this case is even worse because of the amounts of each and that it was a family affair. The Topete brothers were among eight Montana and California defendants who brought a staggering amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl pills to the Butte and Helena communities over approximately six months. The brothers will collectively serve 30 years in federal prison, we’ve removed more drugs and guns from our streets, and we will continue pursuing justice against those who poison our state and nation,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
In court records, the government alleged that from June 2022 until about January 2023 in Butte and Helena, the Topete brothers and six other co-defendants conspired to traffic meth and fentanyl. In June 2022, the Utah Highway Patrol stopped an individual traveling in a vehicle carrying 3.5 pounds of meth and 6,000 pills containing fentanyl and learned that the individual was transporting the drugs to Butte for distribution by “Esco,” who was co-defendant Juan Felipe Vidrio Fuentes, of Anaheim, California. Law enforcement further learned that Fuentes was staying at Whitehall residence along with at least one co-defendant, James Andrew Stringari, of Whitehall, and that Fuentes was supplying both fentanyl and meth throughout the Butte area from the Whitehall residence. In addition, law enforcement corroborated information about meth and fentanyl trafficking that implicated Fuentes, Stringari, co-defendant Janet Dean White, of Butte, and another co-defendant.
During the investigation, law enforcement intercepted packages containing thousands of pills that were mailed from California to a Whitehall address and a Butte address. Law enforcement also learned that Fuentes had relocated to a house in Helena. Investigators conducted coordinated raids of the Helena and Butte addresses. In the Butte residence, law enforcement located approximately six pounds of meth, 208 grams of fentanyl, $15,000 cash and seven firearms. In the Helena residence, law enforcement located approximately seven pounds of meth and 68 grams of fentanyl.
The evidence showed that Martin Topete was one of the leaders of the conspiracy and communicated with his co-conspirators to coordinate resupplies of drugs. Martin Topete worked closely with Fuentes, including directing drug runs from to California for resupply and dictating drug flow to Fuentes for distribution. Martin Topete also would direct other co-conspirators to Fuentes when he did not have drugs to distribute.
The government further alleged that Johnathan Topete aided in the distribution of thousands of fentanyl pills and pounds of meth and helped launder the profits. Johnathan Topete also procured guns for the conspiracy and was a participant in tracking a January 2023 package, which contained almost 3,000 fentanyl pills. Johnathan either threatened or assisted in threatening a co-conspirator after that package was delayed and was subsequently discovered to have possessed or aided in the possession of almost six pounds of meth and seven firearms.
Co-defendant Fuentes was sentenced to 30 years in prison, Stringari was sentenced to 16 years in prison and White was sentenced to 15 years in prison. A federal jury convicted all three defendants of trafficking crime during a trial in April. Co-defendant Wayne Johnson II, of Santa Ana, California, who pleaded guilty in the case, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Co-defendant Trevor Allen Handy, of Butte, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, and co-defendant Agatha Noriz Carranza, of Whitehall, was sentenced to three years in prison. Handy and Carranza also pleaded guilty to charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. 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, Drug Enforcement Administration, Utah Highway Patrol and Utah State Bureau of Investigations conducted the investigation.
The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
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