Great Falls woman admits distributing drugs leading to death

GREAT FALLS — A Great Falls woman has pleaded guilty to a federal charge saying she distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl resulting in a man's death, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said Tuesday.

Brandie Rae Fulbright, 40, entered her plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls. She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris scheduled sentencing for May 5. Fulbright was detained.

Fulbright's co-defendant, Kent Fox, pleaded guilty to the same charge last October and faces the same punishment when he is sentenced later this month.

In court documents, the government said that on Aug. 23, 2020, Great Falls police officers were called to a camper trailer where they found a man, identified in court records as John Doe, deceased on a bed.

Fox told investigators he picked up Doe two days earlier and took him to his house so Doe could buy methamphetamine from Fulbright. Doe traded an AR-15 rifle to Fulbright in exchange for the meth and two blue pills, court records said.

Fox then returned Doe to his camper, prosecutors said.

Investigators learned that a witness saw Doe inject himself with the meth and then slump over on his bed. An autopsy determined that Doe died from an overdose of a combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl, court records said.