Major meth dealer sentenced to prison
A Whitefish man was sentenced to 168 months in prison Friday after pleading guilty in July to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy in Missoula also sentenced Kenneth Daniel Chrestensen, 27, to pay a $100 special assessment and five years of supervised release.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, an August 2011 federal investigation identified Chrestensen as one of several people trafficking pound quantities of methamphetamine from California to Flathead County.
The investigation was a cooperative effort involving the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Chrestensen is the latest in a string of people sentenced for meth-related charges from that investigation and another that involved a drug ring bringing methamphetamine to the valley from Washington.
One confidential source told investigators about getting 39 pounds of methamphetamine from Chrestensen between spring 2010 and October 2011, and getting a half-pound of the drug from Chrestensen the night of their arrest last October.
Another confidential source told investigators about making several trips to California and securing pound quantities of methamphetamine from Chrestensen. The meth was brought back to Flathead County for distribution.
A third confidential source reportedly worked for Chrestensen to collect drug-related debts, depositing large sums of money into Wells Fargo bank accounts in Montana and getting paid 35 to 50 percent of whatever was collected with either cash, merchandise or methamphetamine.
“Truth in sentencing” guidelines mean Chrestensen likely will serve all of the time imposed by the court. He can earn a reduction for good behavior, but that will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Others who have been sentenced for meth-related charges in connection with the investigations include Diane Walters, 37, Kalispell; Derek Heft, 27, Kalispell; Thomas Bell, 45, Tacoma, Wash.; Brandon Torgenrud, 29, Polson; Lucas Brager, 30, Kalispell; and Brandy Burkowski, 26, Trego.