A Great Falls woman connected to the yearlong narcotics investigation in Great Falls that led to multiple arrests last fall was sentenced in federal court on May 15.

Courtney Price, 28, had admitted to a drug trafficking crime after law enforcement found fentanyl and methamphetamine in a vehicle she was driving was sentenced to three years and two months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich’s office.

Price pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

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

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In a sentencing memo, Price’s lawyer wrote that law enforcement began investigating a drug distribution network in the fall of 2022 that was supplying large amounts of fentanyl in the Great Falls area.

Law enforcement identified multiple co-conspirators involved in the network, namely Joseph Conner as the fentanyl supply source, Dallas Lopez and Nicholas Cocklin, according to the sentencing memo.

Conner was sentenced in federal court on May 1 to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

Cocklin has a case pending in federal court and Lopez has a case pending in district court.

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Price and her co-defendant Iesha Berry-Harris made it onto law enforcement’s radar as they were surveilling Conner, Lopez and Cocklin.

On Feb. 7, 2023, law enforcement officers determined Price and Conner were both near his residence in University Place in Washington.

On Feb. 8, 2023, officers learned that Price was traveling back to Montana from Washington and stopped her between Lincoln and Great Falls, according to court documents.

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Officers discovered a bag in the trunk that contained meth and fentanyl pills, as well as a firearm, according to court documents.

On March 27, 2023, officers talked to Price about the stop and she said that she had picked up two passengers in Tacoma, Wash. to drive them back to Great Falls and she expected to be paid for the trip in fentanyl pills, according to court documents.

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Price told officers during that interview that she knew Berry-Harris had fentanyl pills in her purse but that she was unaware of the drugs in the vehicle’s trunk. Price also told officers that she was a long-time drug user and would sometimes run errands, such as drive to Tacoma, or distribute drugs in exchange for drugs, according to court documents.

“While understanding the difficult task in assigning a hierarchy of guilty to any drug trafficking operation, we believe that Ms. Price’s historical role, when compared to that of her co-conspirators, demonstrates she is substantially less
culpable than the average participant,” Price’s lawyer wrote in his sentencing memo.

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Her lawyer argued that Price wasn’t involved in planning or organizing the transportation or sale of drugs, which was mostly done by Conner, and Price didn’t have decision making authority over those providing her with the drugs, such as Conner and Lopez.

“Her participation was in furtherance of her own severe addiction and not the result of any proprietary interest
in the sale of drugs. The only benefit Ms. Price stood to gain from her involvement with these drug traffickers was a steady supply of fentanyl, the pursuit of which became paramount to her daily routine. Therefore, while certainly not guilt free, Ms. Price’s involvement as a user of drugs, at the mercy of her drug dealers, makes her substantially less culpable than the individuals routinely acquiring, shipping, and selling these drugs in Washington and Montana,” her lawyer wrote in his sentencing memo, arguing for a reduced sentence.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott prosecuted the case.

The Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations and Russell Country Drug Task Force conducted the investigation.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach, according to Laslovich’s office.