Big Timber Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Possession

BIG TIMBER, MT — A Big Timber man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced.

James Karl Ellis, 38, will serve 36 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty in February to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the sentencing.

The case began when law enforcement received a video in November 2023 showing Ellis’s garage. The footage depicted Ellis retrieving something from a large safe and providing a bag containing what appeared to be a white powdery substance to a woman deputies recognized as a known narcotics user.

“The video depicted Ellis obtaining something from a large safe in the garage and then providing a bag containing what appeared to be a white powdery substance to a female,” court documents stated.

Deputies obtained a search warrant and executed it at Ellis’s Big Timber residence on November 27, 2023. Law enforcement discovered approximately 300 grams (about two-thirds of a pound) of methamphetamine in the garage safe and in a locked closet in Ellis’s bedroom.

The investigation was conducted by the Sweetgrass County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a federal program that brings together law enforcement at all levels and communities to reduce violent crime and drug-related offenses. The Department of Justice launched a strengthened PSN strategy in May 2021 focused on fostering community trust, supporting violence prevention organizations, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring results.