Amanda Montoya and Cristina Kunz
Introduction
Amanda Lynn Montoya, 42, of Corvallis, Montana, and Cristina Dallas Kunz, 36, of Helena, Montana, were sentenced to federal prison on 13 November 2026 for bringing methamphetamine into Montana from Washington state . Montoya, who pleaded guilty in July 2026 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, received ten years in prison and five years of supervised release; Kunz, who pleaded guilty to the same charge the same month, received seven years in prison and five years of supervised release . US District Judge Donald W. Malloy presided, and the sentences were announced by US Attorney Scott Twito .
Background Information
The government alleged in court documents that Montoya was distributing methamphetamine in Missoula . Law enforcement learned that Montoya would be travelling back to Montana from Washington state on 28 May 2026, and arranged a traffic stop to investigate further .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Both admitted meth trafficking and were sentenced to federal prison terms.
Montoya was driving the car, and Kunz was in the passenger seat, when officers stopped it on 28 May 2026 . In the vehicle, officers found two pounds of methamphetamine and $1,700 in cash . Searching Kunz’s phone, officers found messages detailing plans between Kunz and Montoya to distribute the methamphetamine, and their plan to travel to Washington to purchase the drugs . Both women pleaded guilty in July 2026 to possession with intent to distribute, and Judge Malloy sentenced them to prison terms of ten and seven years respectively .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The sentences were announced by the office of US Attorney Scott Twito, which prosecuted the case; the Missoula Drug Task Force conducted the investigation . The office presented the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Justice Department’s nationwide violent-crime initiative, and as a component of Operation Take Back America .
Current Status
Montoya is serving a ten-year federal prison term and Kunz a seven-year term, each to be followed by five years of supervised release . Both admitted the trafficking plan through guilty pleas in July 2026, and the sentences were imposed together at the same November 2026 hearing .
Impact on Their Career/Life
A supply run from Washington state ended at a pre-arranged traffic stop: the two pounds of meth and $1,700 in the car, plus the purchase-and-distribution messages on Kunz’s phone, put both women in federal prison for years — Montoya until past 50, Kunz into her early forties . The Justice Department publicized the pair’s sentences as an example of interdiction of methamphetamine moving into Montana communities .
Sources
- “2 Montana women sentenced to prison for trafficking meth” — US Attorney’s Office, District of Montana / justice.gov, November 2026: source