BILLINGS – A Billings man who was traveling with 5 pounds of meth was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Scott Twito said.
U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
Jason Daniel Schauer, 45, pleaded guilty in June 2026 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The government alleged in court documents that, on July 3, 2025, Schauer and a companion were moving methamphetamine from Arizona to Montana when they were pulled over outside Livingston. A Montana Highway Patrol trooper had watched the pair “tear through a (gas station) parking lot at a high rate of speed.”
Troopers grew suspicious that Schauer might be trafficking drugs after seeing drug paraphernalia in the car. They obtained a search warrant. Searching the vehicle, troopers found five cellophane-wrapped bundles under the rear set of the car, weighing roughly 5 pounds total. DEA testing later determined it was 2,202 grams of meth. Schauer told law enforcement he had paid $4,500 for the meth and purchased it in Phoenix from “cartel associated” individuals.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. Montana Highway Patrol, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and the DEA conducted the investigation.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Montana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.