MISSOULA – A Butte man who was found asleep and slumped over the steering wheel of his pickup in Manhattan will spend six years behind bars after he admitted to having meth and firearms when he was found by police.
Joseph Patrick Walsh, 40, was sentenced on Wednesday to 72 months and one day in prison to run concurrent to a state sentence. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Walsh pleaded guilty in October to possession with intent to distribute meth and to possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on Feb. 11, 2018, a welfare check by a Manhattan Police officer was conducted on a suspicious pickup truck that was parked in Manhattan.
The officer found the truck running with Walsh slumped over the steering wheel, asleep, the prosecution said.
The officer woke up Walsh, who said he hadn’t been drinking but was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. Walsh acknowledged there were marijuana and meth in the center console.
He opened the console and handed the officer two 9mm semi-automatic pistols and a glove, which contained 53.2 grams of pure meth. Fifty-three grams of meth is the equivalent of about 424 doses.
