Missoula man admits methamphetamine trafficking crime

A Missoula man accused of dealing large quantities of methamphetamine in the community and of having nine pounds of the drug at his property and vehicle admitted to a trafficking crime last week.

According to acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson, Terry David Starrett, 53, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute meth as charged in a superseding information.

Starrett faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for Sept. 2 before U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy. Starrett was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement served a federal search warrant on Jan. 7 and recovered more than nine pounds of meth from Starrett’s rental property and his vehicle.

Nine pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 32,616 individual doses. The government further alleged that Starrett sold an undercover informant about two ounces of meth in December 2020 and that he trafficked meth from Washington to Montana once or twice a week.

In addition, in the fall of 2020, Starrett traveled to California with another person and returned to Missoula with about 15 pounds of meth. Fifteen pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 54,360 individual doses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI, the Missoula Police Department, Missoula County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri River Drug Task Force.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants