FARGO — A little more than three years after federal agents found her hiding inside a crawl space armed with four guns during a raid at a farmhouse south of Bismarck, the leader of one of the state's largest methamphetamine rings has pleaded guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise, otherwise known as the federal "kingpin" statute.

At a late afternoon hearing Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Quentin N. Burdick Federal Courthouse in Fargo, 46-year-old Jessica Trottier, also known as Jessica Lattergrass, admitted to running the large-scale drug distribution operation, as well as illegally possessing guns as a convicted felon.

"It's OK to get emotional," Chief Judge Peter Welte told Trottier as her voice shook while answering his questions about her decision to plead guilty. "It shows you'v

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