Two Great Falls women sentenced in huge drug bust

It is being called one of the biggest drug busts in Montana.  In all,  22 people were sentenced in the drug case including two Great Falls women.  They are 40-year-old Opal Cox who received 144 months in prison on a conspiracy charge and 54-year-old Gloria Lucero who received 64 months in prison on a possession with intent to distribute.   Cox received the third longest sentence in the case.

At a press conference yesterday Jesse Laslovich says the investigation began back in 2019 and had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.  He says the druggies would smuggle the drugs from Mexico into California and then to  Butte, Montana. From there the drugs would then be funneled out around the state to be sold in towns like Great Falls.

the Government estimates that the drug trafficking network funneled  more than two-thousand pounds of Meth and 722,000 fentanyl-laced pills from Mexico to Butte.  About $3,000,000 was laundered by the drug proceeds.  19 firearms were also seized and Laslovich says much of the drugs were sent by mail to Butte from California.

Below is a list of all those sentenced in the case.

Montana defendants convicted:

Charles Clement, 36, of Butte – Conspiracy– 54 months in prison

Steve Shipe, 52, of Butte – Conspiracy – 60 months in prison

Jeremy Rivers, 45, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 60 months in       prison

Dale Johnson, 27, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 46 months in       prison

Michael Robert Lee, 25, of Helena – 46 months in prison

James Starcevich, 25, of Butte – Conspiracy – 5 years of supervision, 1 day in prison

Charles Petty, 34, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 120 months in     prison

MaryJane Galloway, 37, of Butte – Deceased prior to sentencing

Shawn Miller, 33, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 60 months in       prison

Josh Schroeder, 40, of Butte – Conspiracy – 188 months in prison

David Shaver, 34, of Butte – Conspiracy – 54 months in prison

David Viers, 59, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 12 months in prison

Opal Cox, 40, of Great Falls – Conspiracy – 144 months in prison

Travis Soderberg, 47, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 96 months in       prison

Deric Sherman, 55, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 78 months in       prison

Anthony Lamere, 33, of Butte – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 84 months in       prison

Gloria Lucero, 54, of Great Falls – Possession with the Intent to Distribute – 64 months       in prison

Clayton Cleland, 40, of Butte – Conspiracy – 54 months in prison

California defendants convicted:

Oscar Luna, 32, Bakersfield – Conspiracy – 72 months in prison

Heriberto Tavares, 29, Anaheim – Possession with Intent to Distribute, sentencing set for February 21, 2023

Mexico defendants convicted:

Humberto Villareal, 34, Culiacan, Sinaloa – Possession with the Intent to Distribute –         204 months in prison

Ricardo Ramos Medina, 34, Culiacan, Sinaloa – Conspiracy – 96 months in prison