GREAT FALLS – A Billings woman who trafficked methamphetamine was sentenced yesterday to 136 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Raven Michelle Volkomener, 43, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
The government alleged in court documents that on May 4, 2024, law enforcement received reports of a car driving erratically south towards Billings on Highway 87. Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) identified the vehicle roughly five miles from Billings, observed it commit a traffic infraction, and pulled it over.
Law enforcement asked the driver to step out of the car and she was identified as Volkomener. She had an outstanding felony arrest warrant. She was taken into custody and that same day law enforcement, pursuant to a search warrant, searched the vehicle. Among other items discovered in the vehicle were four packages of suspected methamphetamine located in a backpack in the back seat. The methamphetamine was later analyzed and found to contain over 1,700 grams of pure meth.
Law enforcement also obtained a search warrant for the Volkomener’s cell phone and found text messages from at least February 2023 to May 4, 2024, between Volkomener and a co-defendant talking about a trip by Volkomener to Great Falls in May 2024 to collect methamphetamine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Starnes and Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The Montana Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Montana Department of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Montana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.