Kalispell man charged in 31-pound meth bust

A Kalispell man is among three people charged with trafficking methamphetamine in Montana.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, John Patrick Figueroa Araujo, 53, of Kalispell, Kristal Patricia Leonard, 34, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and John Murray Barry, 39, of Palmdale, Calif., are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and with possession with intent to distribute. If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants face a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. All defendants were detained pending further proceedings.

The three appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto.

Court documents filed in the case said investigators arrested the defendants on Sept. 18 as they were driving separately, and that search warrants executed on their vehicles revealed approximately 31.5 pounds of methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Montana Highway Patrol, Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Polson Police Department, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Police Department, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Kalispell Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Border Patrol and Two Bear Air.