Donnovan Orville Horton, 52, was sentenced last week in federal court to three years and eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine from his home near an elementary school and having firearms.

The Vaughn man pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to distribute meth and to drug user in possession of firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

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The government alleged that in December 2022, officers with the Russell Country Drug Task Force learned that an individual was obtaining meth from Horton, according to court documents.

Law enforcement officers then made a series of purchases of meth from Horton, once in a parking lot in Great Falls and three times from his home in Vaughn.

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Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Horton’s residence, which is less than 200 feet and across the street from an elementary school, where officers found meth, drug paraphernalia, equipment for making hash oil and four firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey K. Starnes prosecuted the case, which the Russell Country Drug Task Force and FBI investigated.

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This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, 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.

In May 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on core principles of fostering trust and legitimacy in 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.