Milo Robert Cook III Sentenced To 96 Months In Prison For Drug Offenses

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on March 5, 2014, MILO ROBERT COOK III, 34, of Billings, was sentenced to 96 months in prison, followed by 5 years supervised release by Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. The sentence followed Cook's December 2013 guilty plea to Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thaggard, the Government stated that In approximately November 2012, law enforcement officers in Billings, Montana, began to investigate allegations that the Defendant was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine.

On November 15, 2012, law enforcement officers in Billings seized approximately 11 grams of suspected methamphetamine from the Defendant's vehicle. A chemical analysis of the substance disclosed it consisted of 11.6 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine; 11 grams of the substance was actual (pure) methamphetamine.

On or about March 11, 2013, Tomas Alvarado was arrested in Idaho in possession of a large amount of cocaine and methamphetamine which he was transporting to Billings for distribution. The following day, law enforcement officers in Billings interviewed Alvarado. Alvarado stated he met the Defendant in approximately October 2012, in Nevada. Alvarado stated that, over the ensuing months, he provided more than 500 grams of a methamphetamine to the Defendant to distribute in the Billings area.

On March 14, 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on the residence of Walter White, which is located in Lockwood. They recovered methamphetamine packaged for distribution.

The officers interviewed White. White admitted that he had received methamphetamine from Alvarado between October 2012 and March 2013. White stated that he provided over 500 grams of methamphetamine to the Defendant to distribute during that time period.

The term pure methamphetamine refers to the purity contained in the transacted amount which is usually "cut" with inert ingredients that make the actual product less pure but more profitable as drugs are generally sold based on quantity not quality.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Billings area law enforcement.