Absarokee man pleads guilty to federal meth, laundering charges

An Absarokee man has admitted his role in a methamphetamine ring in Fishtail, including the transportation of 178 pounds of methamphetamine to Montana to be sold.
Brett Wade Clouse, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court June 29 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Under the terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors, the following charges will be dismissed: One count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
He was allowed to remain free until sentencing based on “medical issues,” but those issues were not detailed in court documents.
According to court documents, federal prosecutors allege that from January 2013 until on or about June 18th, 2015, Clouse was a key member of a wide-ranging conspiracy to import and distribute methamphetamine in Montana. The leader of this conspiracy was Fishtail resident Merrill Clark Gardner, who has pleaded guilty to charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Clouse repeatedly served as an interstate courier of large amounts of methamphetamine on Gardner’s behalf.
On June 18, 2015, a search warrant was served upon Gardner’s home on Delger Road in Fishtail. During the execution of the search warrant, Gardner and Clouse arrived in a vehicle registered to Gardner. Investigators searched the vehicle and recovered 1 1/4 pounds of methamphetamine. Clouse was carrying a Glock 23 semi-automatic pistol strapped to his ankle.
Clouse then provided information to investigators that he had driven Gardner from his residence to a residence in Nye where Gardner retrieved methamphetamine prior to their return to Fishtail and contact with law enforcement. Investigators conducted a consent search on the Nye residence and located an additional three packages of 1 1/4 pounds of methamphetamine, the seizure totaling approximately six pounds of methamphetamine.
In subsequent interviews with investigators, Clouse admitted his involvement in the conspiracy, explaining that on at least seven separate occasions, he transported bindles of $200,000, illegal proceeds collected from the sale of methamphetamine, to Gardner’s source of supply, according to court documents. In exchange for the drug proceeds, Clouse was provided with 20 to 26 pounds of additional methamphetamine intended for distribution.
Clouse told the Drug Enforcement Administration that from 2013 until June 2015, he brought approximately 178 pounds of methamphetamine into the state of Montana and delivered them to Gardner, according to court documents. All the methamphetamine seized and tested in the course of investigating this conspiracy has contained purity levels of at least 95 percent.
Gardner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. His sentencing is set for July 28.