Meth dealer sentenced to prison

A Washington state man who admitted to selling methamphetamine on the Flathead Indian Reservation was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen.

Alberto Escareno-Sanchez, 27, of Sunnyside, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute meth. Escareno-Sanchez also will be on probation for five years, according to acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson.

Prosecutors alleged that in January 2019, Flathead Tribal Police officers pulled over a vehicle in which Escareno-Sanchez was a passenger. During a later search of the vehicle, investigators found meth, a gun and other drug paraphernalia. In July 2020, officers served a search warrant on Escareno-Sanchez's residence and found meth, heroin, two handguns and more than $14,000.

Escareno-Sanchez told officers that the drugs, one of the guns and the money belonged to him. Additionally, confidential informants assisted Escareno-Sanchez with distributing pounds of meth in Flathead and Lake counties and told authorities he made trips to Washington to get meth to sell on the reservation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Northwest Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.