Box Elder man pleads guilty to drug charges on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation

GREAT FALLS - A Box Elder man accused of distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Harold Blake Whitford, Sr., 56, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Whitford faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of 40 years, a $5,000,000 fine, and at least four years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for June 17, 2026. Whitford remains released with conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that in the early hours of March 28, 2024, law enforcement was dispatched to investigate reports of a shooting on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. Surveillance video from the scene showed two suspected gunmen arrive and depart in a pickup truck. A truck that looked like the one used in the shooting was located shortly thereafter in front of Whitford's home. Officers confirmed that vehicle was the truck used in the shooting.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant and found the following items rolled up in a shirt near Whitford's bed:

• A plastic baggie containing 489 suspected fentanyl pills;
• Twenty-seven small plastic baggies each containing 10 suspected fentanyl pills;
• A plastic baggie containing powder; and
• Two plastic baggies containing suspected methamphetamine.

Officers also found a ripped piece of paper that said, "100pack-$1400," "$700," "$300" near the head of Whitford's bed. They found a scale and a rifle at the house as well.

When Whitford was arrested on an outstanding warrant over a week later, he removed a ziplock bag from his pocket and threw it. A pink pill also fell out of his pocket, and another pill was found on his person. The ziplock bag had suspected fentanyl pills in it.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The FBI, Tri-Agency Task Force, Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and Hill County Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.