FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
MICHAEL JUSTIN FOOS PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings on December 4, 2007, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, MICHAEL JUSTIN FOOS, a 34-year-old resident of Billings, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and the use or possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime or in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Sentencing is set for February 28, 2008. He is currently detained.
At the change of plea proceeding, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
Testimony would have shown that from approximately 2002 to present, FOOS was involved in a conspiracy with several individuals to possess with the intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine in the Billings area.
Additional testimony would have been presented that on January 26, 2005, FOOS was in possession of a 45 caliber semi-automatic Taurus handgun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
FOOS faces possible penalties of a mandatory 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life in prison, a $4,000,000 fine and 5 years supervised release. In addition, FOOS faces an additional mandatory five year imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence, for the use or possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime or in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.
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