'Granny' gets prison for meth

The Daily Inter Lake

A 72-year-old woman portrayed by federal prosecutors as the Kalispell area's largest meth supplier was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Myrtle "Granny" Baldwin of Kalispell was given 47 months in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Also sentenced Monday was Frank Hazel, 30, of Kila. Prosecutors considered him the Kalispell area's main meth distributor, according to federal court documents.

Hazel was sentenced to 178 months in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Hazel would receive his methamphetamine in pound quantities from Baldwin and then redistribute it to other drug dealers, according to prosecutors.

Investigators found 177 grams of a mixture of methamphetamine after searching Hazel's car, according to court documents.

The Northwest Drug Task Force began investigating Baldwin and Hazel in spring 2006.