Billings woman sentenced to over 9 years for drug trafficking

BILLINGS - A Billings woman who trafficked drugs from Denver to Billings was sentenced today to 117 months, followed by 4 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Beth Marie Jones, 63, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Jones was travelling regularly to Denver to pick up fentanyl and methamphetamine, which she then sold in the Billings area.

The case against Jones began when law enforcement in Billings learned from a source in April 2024 that she was selling meth and fentanyl in the area. The source indicated Jones had travelled several times to Denver to pick up the drugs.

Law enforcement obtained a warrant to monitor Jones's cell phone locations and learned she was in the Denver area. On May 3, 2024, as Jones travelled back to Montana, law enforcement pulled her over in Big Horn County and searched her car. Officers found 28.2 grams of meth, 205.9 grams of fentanyl, and 11.35 grams of fentanyl powder. On the front seat was a firearm, which Jones said was for protection.

Speaking to agents roadside, Jones said she went to Denver to pick up the drugs, later admitting in an interview that she had travelled there multiple times to get the illicit material. In a search of Jones's phone, agents learned she was purchasing 3,000 fentanyl pills and a half-ounce of meth. Other messages on her phone indicated she was also selling fentanyl and methamphetamine.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The DEA conducted the investigation.

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