GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A north Idaho man who admitted to trafficking meth in Great Falls and Helena was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday.
Thomas Lee Dieruf, 40, of Osburn pleaded guilty in May to possession with intent to distribute meth. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided over the case.
In January 2022, investigators organized a sting operation — setting up a deal to buy meth from Dieruf. According to court documents, Dieruf left his home in Idaho and drove to Montana, where police arrested him at a gas station in St. Regis.
Officers found about a quarter pound of meth, a digital scale, plastic baggies and two pistols, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the case was a part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which engages communities with all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun violence.
