Drug possession nets five-year sentence for Lakeside man

The Daily Inter Lake

A Lakeside man has been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation after pleading guilty in a drug possession case that led to the revocation of a prior burglary sentence.

Shannon Powell, 45, pleaded guilty in Flathead District Court to a felony charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs after an anonymous source reported he was using drugs and in possession of stolen property.

Powell subsequently failed a drug test ordered by his probation officer.

A further probation search turned up a marijuana pipe with burned residue and a small baggie of methamphetamine as well as a pen tube containing white residue.

A second charge of misdemeanor criminal possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed.

The drug possession conviction violated Powell’s prior sentence for felony accountability to burglary.

In addition to the prison sentence, District Judge David Ortley ordered Powell to pay a $400 public defender fee and to follow all treatment recommendations made as a result of a chemical dependency evaluation.