Montana drug traffickers, including two from Anaconda and Butte, sentenced in fentanyl scheme

Five suspects in a 13-defendant fentanyl trafficking case were sentenced to federal prison this week for their roles in moving the drug from Arizona to Montana and other states, according to the U.S. Attorney for Montana.

The five people sentenced were Sadie Cheryl Sawyer, 37; Zane Nicholas Schafer, 35; Carrie Jean Bishop, 52; Spring Marie David, 50; Diana Michelle Karnes, 43. All five previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl last November, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Karnes additionally pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Sawyer was sentenced to four years in prison; Schafter was sentenced to 30 months. Bishop received a 108-month sentence, while David got 30 months and Karnes received eight years.

According to federal court filings, between February 2023 and March 2025, members of the drug trafficking ring, led by Gerad Nigel Punch, mailed and transported fentanyl from Phoenix to Montana, Washington and Texas to distribute.

When the drugs arrived in Montana, Punch would give the fentanyl to local traffickers or arrange for other members of the trafficking ring to sell it. Sawyer would buy fentanyl from Punch and others and distribute it from there.

Schafer received at least four packages of fentanyl at his Anaconda home to distribute. Bishop and Punch would also work together to distribute the drug, and Davis helped sell more than 2,000 grams of fentanyl to an undercover officer in Butte in October 2024, according to the cases.

Karnes helped distribute fentanyl in part to forgive drug debts she owed to the trafficking ring, according to the government.

Law enforcement seized more than 10 kilograms of fentanyl during the investigation into the trafficking ring. Punch was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison, and another defendant, Brooke Cardonia, got 108 months in prison. Two other co-defendants are set to plead guilty this week, while four others will be sentenced this summer.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Lowney and Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide immigration and cartel crackdown effort. Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Southwest Montana Drug Force conducted the investigation.