Washington man gets 10 years for selling meth on Flathead Reservation

A Washington man who admitted to selling methamphetamine on the Flathead Indian Reservation was sentenced in Missoula on Tuesday to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen.

According to acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson, Alberto Escareno-Sanchez, 27, of Sunnyside, Wash., pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute meth. Escareno-Sanchez will also be on probation for five years.

The government alleged in court documents that in January 2019 Flathead Tribal Police officers pulled over a vehicle in which Escareno-Sanchez was a passenger. During a later search of the vehicle investigators found meth, a gun and other drug paraphernalia. In July 2020 law officers served a search warrant on Escareno-Sanchez’s residence and found meth, heroin, two handguns and $14,286 in cash.

Escareno-Sanchez told officers that the drugs, a gun and the money belonged to him. In addition, confidential informants assisted Escareno-Sanchez with distributing pounds of meth in Flathead and Lake counties and indicated to law enforcement that the defendant made trips to Washington to get meth to sell on the Flathead Reservation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Northwest Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.