One of the last members of Great Falls meth trafficking ring pleads guilty

GREAT FALLS - One of the last defendants in a far-reaching drug ring investigation based out of Great Falls admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Scott Twito said.

Leland Neal Lapier, Jr., 42, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Lapier faces 15 years to life in prison, at least 10 years of supervised release, a $20 million fine, and a $100 special assessment.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for March 17, 2027. Lapier was released subject to conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that Lapier was linked to a drug trafficking organization run out of Great Falls by, among others, Dan Wakeford and Mike Wakeford. In 2024, investigators seized over 100 pounds of meth and an illegal firearm in an Arizona storage unit connected to this conspiracy.

Law enforcement learned in its investigation that Lapier supplied methamphetamine to Dan Wakeford starting around 2020. For roughly the next year, Lapier provided Wakeford with an estimated 30 to 80 pounds of meth at $8,000 a pound. Eventually, the price of the meth changed and Dan Wakeford stopped using Lapier and started using his brother Mike Wakeford to source their meth.

Dan Wakeford was later arrested and so Mike Wakeford connected with Lapier. The two worked together buying and trafficking meth until Mike Wakeford was arrested in May 2025. Lapier, who continued to traffic meth, was arrested in Great Falls in February 2026. Law enforcement learned that multiple other individuals both provided and received methamphetamine from Lapier during this period.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Starnes and Zeno Baucus are prosecuting the case. The investigation was conducted by the Russell Country Drug Task Force, including the FBI and DEA.

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.