A Kalispell man earned five years behind bars in U.S. District Court on Tuesday for heroin trafficking as well as illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Joseph Daniel Fox, 29, pleaded guilty in December to charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin and prohibited person in possession of firearms and ammunition. As part of the sentence, Fox will follow his stint behind bars with five years of supervised release.

Fox came under law enforcement scrutiny after his name turned up in several cases investigated by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, officials said in a press release. Sources reported buying heroin from him in 2019 and 2020. Along with dealing drugs, authorities believed Fox owned firearms.

A search warrant issued for Fox’s Facebook page turned up multiple conversations wherein Fox discussed selling heroin and negotiated prices. During a 2019 search of his home for a burglary investigation, authorities found methamphetamine, marijuana, two firearms, baggies and a digital scale.

Fox later admitted to using marijuana while keeping guns and methamphetamine in his home, authorities said.

Along with the sheriff’s office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force investigated the case, which is part of a Justice Department initiative aimed at violent crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Clark prosecuted the case, which was presided over by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.