GLENDIVE, Mont. -- A Glendive man who prosecutors said got meth in North Dakota to sell in Montana will spend six years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Wednesday sentenced Christopher L. Hargitt, 41, to the term for his conviction on drug and firearm crimes.
Hargitt pleaded guilty in February to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to possession of meth with intent to distribute. A third count was dismissed under the terms of a plea agreement.
Prosecutors said in court records that on Sept. 14, 2014, a Dawson County Sheriff’s deputy stopped Hargitt’s van for speeding. The vehicle was not registered and Hargitt had no proof of insurance. When the deputy told Hargitt the van would be towed, Hargitt “became very nervous and eager to remove items from the vehicle,” records said.
During the execution of a search warrant on the van, officers found baggies of meth, a .38-caliber revolver and ammunition.
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Hargitt later told agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he and his employer, who was not identified, conspired to sell meth and had sold about an ounce a week.
When he was pulled over in Dawson County, he had been returning from North Dakota to get meth, records said. Hargitt had gone on the trip on behalf of his employer, who had been fronted the meth by a North Dakota source. Hargitt said had been given the revolver found in the van.
Hargitt also was a convicted felon, having been convicted of a drug charge in Washington in 2011.
