A Great Falls man admitted in federal court Dec. 10 to distributing fentanyl and other drugs in the community while he was on state probation, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

Michael Shawn O’Neill, 59, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Great Falls man sentenced for trafficking meth, fentanyl

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

The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for April 10, 2025 and O’Neill detained pending further proceedings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The prosecution alleged that on Sept. 4, 2023, O’Neill, a convicted felon on state supervision, possessed thousands of fentanyl pills for redistribution, as well as four firearms, methamphetamine and heroin, according to court documents.

Tennessee man sentenced for mailing fentanyl to Great Falls couple, leading to overdose death

O’Neill was arrested on Sept. 4, 2023 on a warrant for traveling outside of the district without permission and an investigation led to searches of his vehicle and residence.

Law enforcement found 6,500 fentanyl pills, meth, U.S. currency, four firearms and 1,300 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle and more fentanyl pills and U.S. currency in his residence, according to court documents.

Officers later located heroin and U.S. currency in a backpack retrieved from O’Neill’s vehicle.

Conner sentenced in fentanyl trafficking case

O’Neill told law enforcement that he drove to Spokane to get his supply, believed he was one step away from the cartel through a third party and had spent $12,000 in Spokane on the drugs found in his backpack, according to court documents.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

The Russell Country Drug Task Force, Montana Probation and Parole and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.

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 neighborhoods safer for everyone.

On May 26, 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 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.