Alleged meth, fentanyl dealer lands in federal court

A federal grand jury has indicted a Kalispell man on multiple counts for allegedly dealing methamphetamine and fentanyl in Northwest Montana.

Justin Jose Romo pleaded not guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime at his March 2 arraignment in federal district court in Missoula. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto presided over the hearing.

Federal agents began investigating Romo in July 2022 after getting tipped off about an incoming drug shipment, according to an affidavit written by Special Agent Troy Capser of Homeland Security Investigations of the Department of Homeland Security. The anonymous tipster told investigators that Romo’s supplier was headed to Kalispell with drugs, court documents said.

Romo, Capser wrote, was already known to the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force. He located Romo’s 2009 Audi A4 at a hotel on U.S. 2 in Kalispell, court documents.

Capser followed when Romo exited the business and drove to an apartment complex on Montana 35. Once there Romo picked up another person — also known to investigators for their alleged involvement in the local drug trade — and the pair headed back to Kalispell, court documents said.

A Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled the vehicle over as it approached city limits. Both were subsequently detained and Romo arrested for violating the conditions of his release on another charge, Capser wrote in the affidavit.

A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up 32.5 grams of methamphetamine, court documents said. Capser wrote that investigators found the drug in a black box magnetically attached to the underside of the driver’s seat.

They also allegedly found 7.4 grams of fentanyl, in pill form, and a loaded semi-automatic pistol in the other person’s purse.

Investigators later determined — drawing on recorded jail phone calls, forensic evidence and interviews — that the pistol belonged to Romo and he had instructed his passenger to hide it as deputies pulled them over, according to court documents.

IN SEPTEMBER, investigators met with a confidential informant known to provide “accurate and reliable information” about area drug deals, according to Capser’s affidavit.

The informant, previously arrested while allegedly dealing methamphetamine and fentanyl for Romo, said that they returned to selling drugs after their release from jail, according to court documents. Romo provided them and other dealers with up to a pound of methamphetamine and 100 fentanyl pills each week, court documents said. They told investigators they allegedly had seen Romo with as much as two pounds of methamphetamine and 1,000 fentanyl pills at one time.

The informant also remembered Romo kept a gun on him, describing the weapon as a .380 caliber pistol with a laser sight, possibly a Smith and Wesson, court documents said. That description matched with the weapon pulled from the purse left in Romo’s Audi, Capser wrote in the affidavit.

That same month investigators learned Romo allegedly fled Montana to avoid pending drug charges, court documents said. He made it to Nevada where he was picked up by authorities while trying to use a fake name during a stop for speeding, according to court documents.

During a search of that vehicle, investigators allegedly found 718 grams of methamphetamine and 400 grams of fentanyl hidden in a bag of dog food. They also located a firearm stored in the center console, court documents said.

The other two individuals in the vehicle told investigators that the gun and drugs belonged to Romo, according to court documents.

A CRIMINAL complaint outlining the offenses was filed in U.S. District Court on Feb. 7 and a grand jury handed up the indictment later that month.

On Feb. 22, Romo made his first appearance in federal court, where he reserved his right to a detention hearing. He remains held in the Missoula County Detention Center.

Romo’s local criminal history includes a 2017 conviction on felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal distribution of dangerous drugs in Flathead County District Court. In June of that year, Judge Heidi Ulbricht handed down a partially suspended 15-year sentence with the state Department of Corrections for the latter charge and a suspended five-year sentence for the former.

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances in relation to fentanyl is punishable by between five and 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and four years of supervised release. In the case of methamphetamine, the charge carries a penalty of between 10 years and lifetime imprisonment with a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release.

Prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition comes with 15 years behind bars, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is punishable by between five years and lifetime imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.