Billings man sentenced to five years for drug-related crimes

BILLINGS - A Billings man who was dealing cocaine armed with a handgun from a strip mall parking lot was sentenced yesterday, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Satchel Vernard McDonald, 29, who pleaded guilty in February 2026, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and three years of supervised release on one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was also sentenced to five years in prison and five years of supervised release on one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The two sentences will run consecutively.

U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.

The government alleged in court documents that McDonald, armed with a handgun, was selling cocaine from his car in the parking lot of a Billings shopping plaza.

The Billings Police Department received a complaint on Dec. 28, 2023, from a local business on Central Avenue that they suspected drug deals were happening in the parking lot. The business had seen the same Ford Mustang repeatedly pull into the parking lot, meet with other cars, and then leave shortly after.

Investigators eventually spotted the Mustang and learned that it was registered to McDonald, who had an address nearby. On Jan. 6, 2024, Montana Highway Patrol pulled McDonald over for speeding. In an interview with law enforcement, McDonald acknowledged he had cocaine and a handgun in his car. He also told investigators he had been dealing cocaine for about six months and that he had cocaine, firearms, and a large quantity of cash at his residence.

Investigators obtained a warrant and searched McDonald's house, where they found an additional handgun, an assault-style rifle, a shotgun, $27,877 in cash, a Rolex, and just under a pound of cocaine.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the Montana Highway Patrol, and the ATF conducted the investigation.

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