Source: Office of United States Attorneys
BILLINGS – A Billings woman who admitted trafficking fentanyl while possessing a firearm was sentenced today to 11 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Renee Esperanza Arambula, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that in early 2023, the DEA began investigating Arambula for suspected drug trafficking. Agents discovered by reviewing financial documents that between May 2020 and January 2023, Arambula deposited over $230,000 of cash into the bank and received thousands more through electronic payment but was making only a small fraction of that through formal employment. Much of the money was proceeds of drug trafficking.
Based on its financial analysis, witness interviews, surveillance, and other investigative techniques, the DEA learned Arambula was trafficking fentanyl and other drugs in and around Billings, Montana. Specifically, individuals admitted purchasing more than 400 grams of fentanyl from Arambula between late 2020 and early 2023.
According to statements at the sentencing hearing and court documents, on January 28, 2023, during the course of her drug trafficking, Arambula used a firearm to shoot two unarmed men. She shot the first man at point-blank range in the neck, rendering him a paraplegic. Arambula then shot the second man in the abdomen as he was pleading for her not to shoot. Law enforcement recovered fentanyl pills and a firearm in Arambula’s possession.
The United States Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Billings Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.