Homes in Pronghorn Meadows outside of Ennis, Montana, offer sweeping views of the Madison Valley and towering Madison Range. At 37 Montana Way, a main home and a guest house are currently on the market for $1.39 million. The property includes five bedrooms, four baths and a tasteful painting of a bison over a stone fireplace.
Absent from the glossy real estate sales materials are details about how this comfortable residence became the scene of an infamous drug and firearms bust, and the starting point of a fugitive’s attempted escape from justice.
The saga began in July 2022, when law enforcement identified Jason Michael Hoover as a suspect in storage unit thefts. The investigation led to a search Feb. 9, 2023, of Hoover’s residence — 37 Montana Way — where officers found Hoover and co-defendant Gabriel Michael Boe attempting to hide in a laundry room with the lights off.
Officers observed Hoover and Boe to be in possession of a plastic bag of suspected methamphetamine. After obtaining a second search warrant, law enforcement located more than two pounds of meth near where Hoover and Boe were found hiding. Officers also located about 50 firearms and $5,191 in cash.
Hoover told law enforcement he used the meth and the guns as currency, trading one for the other.
Investigators would go on to recover other stolen loot, including motorcycles and a snowmobile.
Hoover’s case stands out because of the large cache of guns and the amount of meth recovered. It also demonstrates a change in how law enforcement applies resources through the federal Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, which was used in 2023 to develop violence reduction strategies tailored specifically for Laramie County, Wyoming.
In a Dec. 6 press release announcing Hoover’s recent sentencing to 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney for Montana Jesse Laslovich said, “Hoover’s drug trafficking conduct was especially dangerous, not only because of the amount of meth involved, but also because of the large number of firearms found in his residence. With this sentence, the firearms will no longer be on our streets and neither will Hoover.”
The release went on to describe how the PSN program brings 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.”
Why Pronghorn Meadows?
The Pronghorn Meadows Neighborhood Association website touts itself as “blessed with great people” and “million-dollar views.” So how did this upscale enclave suddenly fall under the purview of a law enforcement program once aimed at attacking inner-city gang violence?
Investigations Captain Nate Kamerman with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, said PSN was founded in 2001 and in 2021 its focus shifted from geographic neighborhoods to violence prevention based on the needs of local law enforcement.
“It helps everyone to be on the same page when it comes to investigating and prosecuting,” explained Kamerman.
In 2022 and 2023, law enforcement in Gallatin and Madison counties needed help stopping a rash of storage unit break-ins, said Kamerman, who also serves as commander of the Missouri River Drug Task Force.
“One of our deputies took a bunch of reports of storage unit thefts. And through the use of security footage and other investigative techniques, the Gallatin County deputy identified Mr. Hoover,” recalled Kamerman, praising the deputy for the dogged pursuit of Hoover.
Investigators say Hoover robbed storage units in Three Forks, Belgrade and in Madison County. This led to law enforcement executing the two search warrants for 37 Montana Way in Pronghorn Meadows.
The real estate agent now listing the property for sale said he knew nothing about Hoover or his arrest.
The Missouri River Drug Task Force said Jason Michael Hoover based a criminal enterprise out of a house at 37 Montana Way in the Pronghorn Meadows subdivision outside of Enis, Montana. (David Madison, Cowboy State Daily) 
The Missouri River Drug Task Force said Jason Michael Hoover based a criminal enterprise out of a house at 37 Montana Way in the Pronghorn Meadows subdivision outside of Enis, Montana. (David Madison, Cowboy State Daily)
On the Lam
After his arrest for the meth and the sizable arsenal seized at the Pronghorn Meadows residence, Hoover also faced felony theft and obstruction of justice charges in Madison County. Bail was set at $60,000, and authorities said he was able to pay it through Act Fast Bail Bonds in Butte.
Sometime after being charged in Montana District Court in Madison County in March 2023, Hoover “absconded,” said Timothy Bechtold, a Missoula attorney who represented Hoover in a complaint against the bounty hunters who pursued him.
Hoover remained a bail-jumping fugitive from justice for around six months in 2023. Then on Sept. 26, Hoover resurfaced in the Northern California community of Salyer.
“He was hiding in the hills, and he came down to the store in Salyer,” explained Bechtold, adding that two bounty hunters were there waiting for him. “The two bounty hunters jumped him and whacked him in the head with a Glock and did a little knee drop on his ribs, stuck him in the car and then took him to the hospital to get his head stapled up. His bounty hunters beat him up kind of bad. So, he had like 17 staples in his head and injured his ribs and tore his rotator cuff.”
In a hand-written complaint about the beating, Hoover accused the bounty hunters of “cruel and unusual punishment” for tasing him “over 100 times.”
Bechtold said the beating is captured on video.
“The owner of the Salyer Store stepped outside the store and then popped up his phone and started videoing,” explained Bechtold.
The bounty hunters eventually delivered Hoover to Winnemucca, Nevada, where Lacy Hubber with Act Fast Bail Bonds transported him back to the Gallatin County Jail in Bozeman.
Hoover tried to sue Hubber and Act Fast Bail Bonds, but Bechtold said, “The case was eventually dismissed because I couldn't get a hold of who these guys (the bounty hunters) were.”
End of the road
Once back in Montana, Hoover faced multiple charges and eventually pleaded guilty in April to possession with intent to distribute meth.
In sentencing documents, there are details about how 47-year-old Hoover started using meth at age 13. His latest sentence comes after stints “‘in and out’ of jail for much of his adult life,” according to court documents.
Court documents also indicate Hoover asked to be incarcerated in a federal prison in either Colorado or Minnesota to be close to remaining family.
According to his attorney, co-defendant Gabriel Michael Boe awaits sentencing for a related gun charge.
