Butte Woman Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution Tied to Local Overdoses

BUTTE — A 33-year-old Butte woman pleaded guilty Thursday to federal drug charges after authorities linked her to a series of fentanyl overdoses that occurred in the city last November.

Brooke Rose Louise Cardonia admitted to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto in Missoula. She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison and up to a $10 million fine.

Cardonia was arrested in November 2024 following the overdoses in Butte, after law enforcement developed information that she had supplied fentanyl to the victims. During questioning, she told investigators she had worked with members of a drug trafficking organization for two to three years to distribute fentanyl throughout Montana.

“Cardonia said the DTO provided her with a local resupply connection in Butte via her employment,” according to a press release. “She admitted using the connection to receive fentanyl from the DTO, which she then distributed.”

Federal prosecutors allege Cardonia served as a key local contact for a drug trafficking organization that transported fentanyl into Montana between February 2023 and March 2025. The organization relied on Montana residents like Cardonia to facilitate distribution efforts across the state.

Court documents show Cardonia both distributed fentanyl directly and connected co-defendants to other contacts in Montana who aided the trafficking organization’s distribution network.

The case involved multiple federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Montana Drug Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, DEA and IRS.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine Cardonia’s sentence after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other factors. Sentencing is scheduled for December 18, 2025. She remains detained pending further proceedings.

The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that targets illegal immigration, cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The operation combines resources from the department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood programs.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Lowney and Zeno Baucus are prosecuting the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana.