Havre woman pleads guilty in federal court to drug charge

A Havre woman accused of selling drugs from the student family housing complex at Montana State University-Northern has pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge.

Florence Hare, 25, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Great Falls to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

She is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 5. Penalties include up to 80 years in prison and a $4 million dollar fine.

Hare was charged in March with four federal drug offenses in connection with a Sept. 10 drug raid at her apartment on MSU-Northern's campus.

According to court documents, agents from the FBI and Tri-Agency Task Force served a warrant at the apartment after her common law husband sold meth to police informants on two occasions in July and September.

Agents raided the apartment after witnessing a large amount of suspected drug traffic at the residence, court documents said.

During the search, officers discovered nearly $3,500 in cash, 75 grams of meth, 11 grams of cocaine and 14 grams of marijuana, court records said. Many of the drugs were discovered in a fake hair spray can with a false bottom, and $2,100 in cash was found hidden in the oven, accord ing to court documents.

Officers searched Hare's vehicle, a 1997 Cadillac DeVille, and found a small amount of meth and a bill of sale that indicated Hare purchased the vehicle for $8,500 in cash, according to court documents.

Hill County Attorney David Rice filed a petition in October asking for the vehicle to be forfeited to the state. According to the petition, task force agents believed the Cadillac had been purchased with the proceeds of drug sales.

Former District Court Judge John Warner approved the petition in December after Hare failed to respond to a subpoena.

Hare's common law husband, Brian Lee Big Bow, 26, was arrested during the September raid. Officers found seven grams of meth and $740 in his possession, according to court documents. He attempted to stash the meth in the back seat of a patrol car, where officers promptly found it, the court record said.

Big Bow also faces federal drug charges.

Hare, formerly an MSU-Northern student, was allowed to continue living in the family housing unit until a federal grand jury handed down an indictment March 25. Big Bow moved out of the apartment shortly after the raid, said Bill Lanier, director of housing for the college.