Man pleads guilty to leaving son out in cold

A 22-year-old Kalispell man pleaded guilty Oct. 10 in Flathead District Court to a pair of charges after his 2-year-old son was found alone in the middle of the street on Jan. 24.

Russell Flanigan was found asleep in his home, along with 12 marijuana plants, after deputies traced the boy’s footprints through the snow back to the home. 

The boy had been wearing only a T-shirt and sweat pants. The outside temperature was 13 degrees.

Flanigan had to be shaken roughly before he woke up, and when asked if he knew where his son was, he said, “I guess I don’t.”

Flanigan pleaded guilty to felony criminal manufacture of dangerous drugs and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. 

In exchange for his plea, a misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia was dropped.

The Flathead County Attorney’s Office is requesting a suspended sentence of 5 1/2 years, while Flanigan is seeking a three-year deferred sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 21.