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Shanna Christine Devore Sentenced in U.S. District Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula, on November 20, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, SHANNA CHRISTINE DEVORE, a 25-year-old resident of Bozeman, appeared for sentencing. DEVORE was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 36 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 5 years
DEVORE was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In 2004, William Feight began buying "eight balls" of methamphetamine from T.E., generally for personal use. T.E. was eventually arrested and his Mexican sources of supply approached Feight about selling the methamphetamine that they were bringing into the Bozeman area. Feight agreed and began receiving one ounce of meth from E.C. every one to three days from the summer of 2007 until September of 2008, when Feight was arrested on federal drug charges.
During an interview with law enforcement on March 5, 2009, Feight estimated that he met E.C. 20 to 50 times to obtain ounce quantities of methamphetamine and that he sold approximately 10 ounces of that meth to DEVORE.
After Feight was arrested, his girlfriend, Lori Meigs, started buying methamphetamine from E.C. Meigs was also arrested and charged federally. She was interviewed by law enforcement and confirmed that Feight sold methamphetamine to DEVORE. Meigs also told law enforcement that DEVORE was continuing to distribute meth in the Bozeman area.
On July 10, 2009, DEVORE was interviewed by law enforcement and admitted to buying and selling methamphetamine. She said that in early 2006 she would occasionally watch Meigs' daughter while Feight and Meigs traveled to Mexico to pick up methamphetamine. She further explained that in October 2008 she went with Meigs to E.C.'s residence to pick up meth. E.C. eventually gave DEVORE one ounce of meth, which she delivered to Meigs. A few days later, E.C. fronted DEVORE one-half ounce of meth for $1,000. DEVORE continued to get meth from E.C. until his arrest. Based on the various estimates provided by DEVORE, she received anywhere from eight to 32 ounces of meth from E.C. from October 2008 until May 2009.
DEVORE told law enforcement that she continued to get meth after E.C. was arrested, from an individual introduced to her by E.C. That person fronted DEVORE one-ounce quantities of meth for $2,200 per ounce.
Feight and Meigs pled guilty to federal charges. Feight has been sentenced and Meigs is awaiting sentencing.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that DEVORE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, DEVORE does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Missouri River Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.