Drug dealer headed back before judge after violations
A convicted drug dealer is back in Flathead County District Court after allegedly getting caught with illegal drugs last month.
Authorities arrested Gordon Nicholas Breeden, 40, in Broadwater County on Aug. 4 for criminal possession of dangerous drugs, speeding and displaying a fictitious or altered license plate, according to court documents. The charges constitute multiple violations of the terms of Breeden’s suspended sentence, wrote his probation and parole officer in a report filed in district court, and prosecutors are now seeking the revocation of that sentence.
Breeden has shown willingness to undergo treatment for substance abuse, but typically returns to drug use upon discharge, according to the report. He overdosed on fentanyl as recently as August, his probation and parole officer wrote.
“Probation and parole has concerns for [Breeden’s] safety and well being in the community,” wrote the officer, who recommended prosecutors seek the revocation of his sentence. “The defendant continues to show that he is not ready to be a sober, productive citizen.”
Breeden originally earned the suspended three-year sentence from Judge Amy Eddy in Flathead County District Court in July 2020. According to court documents, law enforcement personnel with the Northwest Drug Task Force monitored a drug deal between Breeden and an informant in April 2019.
Breeden allegedly sold the informant about an eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine for $150 while agents watched from afar.
Initially pleading not guilty to the drug distribution charge, Breeden changed his plea in district court on June 3, 2020. He was sentenced later that summer, according to court records.
He saw that suspended sentence revoked April 2021 after racking up a series of violations, including relocating without permission from his approved home, failing to check in with probation and parole officers, and skipping substance abuse treatment.
Breeden is expected to appear before Eddy for a hearing on the most recent alleged violations on Sept. 14.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.