Kila man earns deferred sentences for drug possession charges

A Kila man caught multiple times in recent months with fentanyl pills earned a pair of deferred sentences in Flathead County District Court in February. 

Randaell Charles Stilson, 20, faced charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs in two separate cases following arrests in 2023 and 2024. He pleaded guilty to both after striking deals with prosecutors.

Judge Amy Eddy, who presided over the cases, handed down a pair of deferred three-year sentences on Feb. 22, ordering them to run concurrent with one another. She also gave Stilson credit for 39 days of time served in the 2023 case and credit for 18 days of time served in the 2024 case. 

Stilson, who previously faced an assault charge in district court — later pleaded down to a misdemeanor — for allegedly attacking a man with bear spray at a fishing access site in 2021, found himself back in county jail in November after Kalispell Police officers seized counterfeit fentanyl pills known as M30s from him. Officers had picked him up after employees of a downtown Kalispell pharmacy reported an individual potentially using drugs in the business’ restroom, court documents said. 

Stilson had another run-in with Kalispell Police in a casino parking lot on Jan. 27. Spotting people “smoking something” in a parked car, officers checked in on the group, court documents said. During the subsequent conversation, officers identified Stilson as one of the occupants and caught sight of blue pills in the door pocket, according to court documents. 

Two of the men later allegedly admitted to smoking fentanyl. The third told officers he smoked fentanyl the day prior, court documents said. During ensuing searches of the trio and their vehicle, authorities uncovered several M30 pills and methamphetamine, court documents said.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.