Wilbur Lee Cadotte Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on August 27, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, WILBUR LEE CADOTTE, a 54-year-old resident of Seville, appeared for sentencing. CADOTTE was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 63 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 6 years
CADOTTE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in a public housing facility.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On March 23, and March 25, 2009, a confidential informant ("CI") of the Blackfeet Safe Trails Drug Task Force ("Task Force") performed controlled purchases of methamphetamine (approximately 2 grams each time) from CADOTTE. The purchases occurred at CADOTTE's residence located in Seville, which is on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The residence is a public housing facility and is located within 1,000 feet of other public housing units. When the CI arrived at CADOTTE's residence, CADOTTE gave the CI approximately 2 grams of methamphetamine on each occasion in exchange for a total of $300 cash.
After a field test of the substances indicated they were methamphetamine, the substances were sent to the DEA Lab in San Francisco, California, where they were confirmed to be methamphetamine.
CADOTTE was later interviewed and admitted that he sold methamphetamine from his residence in Seville. CADOTTE corroborated statements made by other drug dealers (who have recently been prosecuted) that he had both purchased methamphetamine from and sold methamphetamine to these and other individuals. CADOTTE admitted to selling methamphetamine from April 2007 to March 2009.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that CADOTTE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, CADOTTE 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 conducted by the Blackfeet Safe Trails Drug Task Force.
