Billings man sentenced to more than nine years in prison for fentanyl trafficking, firearm possession

BILLINGS — A Billings man convicted of armed trafficking of fentanyl in the community was sentenced today to nine years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Cameron Dimich-Laster, 27, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

In court documents, the government alleged that in September 2023, law enforcement received information that a male person named “Cam” was selling large amounts of fentanyl. Law enforcement believed the person could be Dimich-Laster, who was on state felony probation and had an active arrest warrant for being a probation absconder. Agents observed Dimich-Laster coming and going from a Billings residence over an extended period and driving a BMW. Officers made a traffic stop on Dimich-Laster, who was detained and handcuffed. In a probation search of his vehicle, officers located a .380-caliber handgun, a loaded magazine, a single live round of .380 ammunition, fentanyl pills and $755 in U.S. currency. Law enforcement also searched the residence and located cocaine, a digital scale, ammunition, $1,075 in U.S. currency in the bedroom where Dimich-Laster had been staying. In a search of a small secondary residence Dimich-Laster had been using on the same lot, officers located fentanyl pills, $440 in U.S. currency and a digital scale.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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