Man pleads guilty to selling drugs at bar

A Kalispell man has pleaded guilty to felony counts of manufacturing and distributing drugs after selling cocaine at a Bigfork bar.

Phillip Sowder, 35, entered his pleas on Dec. 12 as part of a plea deal that included the dismissal of a third felony charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute.

A court document says that 33-year-old Travis Martin, the owner of Rendezvous Lounge in Bigfork, sold nine grams of cocaine in three transactions at the bar on Aug. 30 and 31, 2012, and another ounce on Sept. 13, 2012, for a total of $1,860, before allegedly introducing the buyers to Sowder, who he said was his source for the drug.

Sowder then sold the buyers another ounce of cocaine for $1,200 while at the bar.

A later search of Sowder’s home turned up more than 64 grams of cocaine, 65 marijuana plants in a grow operation and “a large sum of U.S. currency.”

According to Sowder’s plea agreement, the Flathead County Attorney’s Office will recommend a total sentence of 10 years, suspended, to the Montana Department of Corrections when he is sentenced on Feb. 27.

Martin has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs.

His next hearing is set for March 5.