California man gets 10 years for trafficking meth to Kalispell

A man who admitted bringing methamphetamine to Kalispell for distribution was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Thursday.

Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen sentenced Christopher George Nomura, 35, of Corona, California, to five years for conviction on possession with intent to distribute meth, a consecutive five years for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and to five years supervised release.

Nomura pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 1, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Law enforcement officers arrested Nomura at a Kalispell hotel in February 2016 after a confidential informant bought meth from Nomura’s co-defendant. The co-defendant told investigators he drove with Nomura to Kalispell and that Nomura had brought meth to sell. When agents arrested Nomura, they found two pistols and a bag of meth on his person.

Nomura admitted to agents he and his co-defendant drove from California in early 2016 with about a pound of meth to distribute and that he had returned to California and got more meth for distribution in Kalispell.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Northwest Drug Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated the program in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.