Polson man sentenced for drug trafficking

A Polson man who admitted to trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl was sentenced Aug. 9 to five years and six months years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

Thomas Joseph Duran, 42, pleaded guilty in April to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

In court documents, the government alleged that in June 2022 in Lake County, Highway Patrol troopers made a traffic stop and later searched a vehicle in which Duran was a passenger. Law enforcement recovered meth, fentanyl, $8,135 in U.S. currency and firearms. Duran admitted that he distributed the drugs in exchange for money.

Co-defendant Andrew Joseph Shields, of Kalispell, who was the driver of the vehicle, was sentenced recently to 11 years and three months in prison for his conviction in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott prosecuted the case. The Northwest Drug Task Force and Montana Highway Patrol conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.