A Missoula man who admitted to trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine in Flathead and Missoula counties was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years and seven months in prison.

According to acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson, Dylan Roy Mace, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 10 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth. Mace also will be subject to five years of supervised release following his release.

In court documents filed in the case, the government alleged that for about a year, beginning in November 2019, Mace and others conspired to distribute meth. Law enforcement began investigating Mace after receiving information that he was distributing ounce quantities of meth and was a partner with Leon Kavis in distributing the drug.

Kavis has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy crime and is awaiting sentencing. Investigators learned from individuals that Mace sold meth in ounce quantities, received one-pound deliveries of meth on a weekly basis and that he and Kavis had been provided with 12 to 14 pounds of meth. Fourteen pounds of meth is the equivalent of about 50,736 doses. The government further alleged that Mace and Kavis used an East Missoula location to obtain and distribute meth. Law enforcement intercepted a package containing about five pounds of meth that was to have been delivered to the East Missoula location.

The government further alleged Mace and Kavis used an East Missoula location to obtain and distribute meth. Law enforcement intercepted a package containing about five pounds of meth that was to have been delivered to the East Missoula location.

Kavis earlier was implicated in a large meth drug operation that includes neo-Nazi prison gang Aryan Brotherhood and the Sinaloa Cartel, once led by the infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Kavis shot and killed Timothy Kuchinski on Sept. 10, 2020, at a Trumble Creek residence. He was arrested but released Sept. 14 after the Flathead County Attorney’s Office decided to not file charges.