Members of Great Falls meth trafficking ring sentenced to prison

GREAT FALLS - Four defendants involved in a widespread methamphetamine trafficking operation were sentenced to prison this week, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

The four were linked to an organization run out of Great Falls by Dan Wakeford, Melissa Barone, and Mike Wakeford. In 2024, investigators arrested Barone and the Wakefords for trafficking, and seized over 100 pounds of meth and an illegal firearm in an Arizona storage unit.

In 2025, Dan Wakeford and Barone were sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Mike Wakeford was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges.

Sentenced this week after pleading guilty to trafficking charges were:

• Jonathan James Henderson, seven years and 10 months
• Levi Jerome Dabler, three years and eight months
• Patrick James Wright, two years and six months
• Stephanie Lee Hurd, three years and six months

Earlier this year, Travis Edward Dabler was sentenced to four years and 10 months, and Charles Nichols Williams was sentenced to three years and seven months.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

"This announcement underscores the ongoing threat posed by drug trafficking organizations that continue to move significant quantities of illicit drugs into Montana," said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cesar Avila. "Through coordinated investigations and interagency partnerships, law enforcement has disrupted these networks and seized substantial amounts of methamphetamine intended for distribution in our communities. We remain committed to protecting Montanans by targeting the organizations responsible and reducing the flow of these dangerous drugs into our state."

The government alleged in court documents that during the Wakeford investigation in 2024, Henderson was identified as an associate of the trafficking organization. Agents used an informant to purchase meth from him and then used a similar setup on Levi Dabler. Agents also sent an informant to buy meth from Hurd. Henderson and Dabler pleaded guilty in March 2026 to meth trafficking charges. Hurd pleaded guilty to a meth distribution charge in February 2026.

Around the same time law enforcement learned that Wright had purchased meth and had connected at least one person with a supplier. He was pulled over in March 2025 and officers found meth and drug paraphernalia in his car. He pleaded guilty in February 2026 to possession with intent to distribute.

"The defendants brought methamphetamine into our tribal communities, putting lives at risk, fueling violence, and causing lasting harm," said Special Agent in Charge Justin Gerken of the FBI Billings Field Office. "The sentencings are about accountability, but our work does not stop here. The FBI will continue working side-by-side with our tribal, federal, state and local partners to disrupt drug trafficking networks and protect the communities we serve."

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Starnes and Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Russell Country Drug Task Force.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Montana comprises agents and officers from the DEA, FBI, ATF, HSI, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the Great Falls Police Department, and the Cascade County Sheriff's Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana.