MISSOULA - A Missoula woman was sentenced on Tuesday after admitting to trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Savannah Shoshana Smith, 37, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl and to drug user and addict in possession of firearms and ammunition, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Smith faces a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release on the drug charge and a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the firearms charge.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for Aug. 24 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.
The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement served a search warrant on the residence of Smith and co-defendant Carlos Aguirre on Oct. 6, 2021. Officers also conducted a traffic stop of Aguirre to execute a search warrant on the car and found a quarter pound of meth packaged for sale and a 9mm handgun that Aguirre had removed from his body when he was stopped.
Inside the residence, officers found approximately 6.9 pounds of meth and fentanyl pills. Seven pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 25,368 doses. Law enforcement also found 20 firearms throughout the residence.
Records showed that Smith purchased 22 firearms between February 2020 and August 2021. Smith told officers that Aguirre would give her meth and she would trade the meth for opiate pills. Smith admitted she was addicted to opioids. Aguirre previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and is pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer S. Clark is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
