Drug deals lead to minimal jail time

Sarah Sullivan was charged with five felony counts of distribution of dangerous drugs after deputies arrested her on Feb. 9 for allegedly selling prescription pain-killers to several confidential informants during a two-year period.  

Sullivan, a 24-year-old Troy resident, was released from the Lincoln County Detention Center 14 days after her arrest as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

If the plea agreement is accepted at sentencing by District Judge James Wheelis next month, those two weeks could be the only time Sullivan spends behind bars on the charges.

Sullivan allegedly sold Oxycodone pills to three different confidential informants on five separate occasions between December 2011 and September 2013, according to affidavits filed by investigators prior to her arrest. All of the transactions were witnessed by law enforcement, and at least two of them were recorded on surveillance equipment.

Many drug cases, like the Sullivan case, require large investments of time and resources from law enforcement agencies.

The investigations often involve multiple monitored drug buys between suspects and confidential informants. Those buys are followed up with a great deal of paperwork, including writing requests for search warrants, which are required before a buy can be recorded on surveillance equipment. Detectives must then accompany the informant to the buy, monitor and record the buy and then document everything in a report.

Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said the investigation into Sullivan consumed more than 200 hours of his department’s time.

“To the detectives that work a case like this, it’s demoralizing. It makes it tougher for them to do their jobs,” Bowe said.

Law enforcement officers say each case is unique, but Sullivan’s case is by no means an anomaly. Records obtained from 19th Judicial District Court in Libby show 78 felony charges filed against 28 separate individuals for the crime of distribution of dangerous drugs since Jan. 1, 2010.

None of those cases went to trial.

Through plea agreements, 25 of the 28 defendants avoided jail sentences on their initial guilty pleas in the cases. In the three cases in which the defendants were sentenced to an initial jail or prison sentence, all three had prior convictions and two of the three were facing sentencing in separate and unrelated cases.

Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Joseph Cik said first-time, non-violent offenders are usually offered a deferred sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.

“There is a presumption of right to a deferred sentence for first-time offenders in non-violent crimes,” Cik said.

Defendants on a deferred sentence are essentially on probation, as far as the law is concerned. They are subject to a set of terms and conditions applied at sentencing and must follow those rules or risk revocation of the deferred sentence. Should a defendant violate those terms and be revoked, the judge has the authority to impose the full sentence for which the original guilty plea was entered, without trial.

John Barnes, of the Montana Attorney General’s Office, said there may be a perception that deferred imposition is some sort of break, but that perception is based solely on the fact that a defendant can get the offense off his or her record by complying with the terms of the sentence. And that rarely happens, he said.

“Most of these drug offenders reoffend, are resentenced and then it stays on their record. In reality, the deferred sentences often turn out to be much harsher sentences than suspended sentences,” he said. “Almost all of these drug offenders reoffend somehow.”

Records from District Court in Libby show that most people who were sentenced on drug distribution charges during the past five years wound up in incarcerated at some point, either for treatment, imprisonment or both. Of the 28 defendants who accepted plea agreements, the deferred sentence was revoked due to violations in 12 of the cases. The deferral period was successfully completed in only one of the cases. The remaining 15 cases are still active.

Barnes said many judges prefer deferred sentences over suspended sentences because the court has more options for sentencing if a convict reoffends.

“If a convict reoffends after receiving a suspended sentence, then the court is restricted and can’t impose a sentence longer than the amount of time suspended,” he said.

If someone who has received a deferred sentence commits another offense during the deferral period, a judge can impose the maximum penalty prescribed by law for the offense to which the person pleaded guilty. However, any remaining counts that were dismissed by the plea agreement would remain dismissed.

In Lincoln County, plea agreements have resulted in 47 felony charges of distribution of dangerous drugs being dismissed since January 2010 in exchange for 28 guilty pleas and three sentences totaling 11 years.

National figures compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicate prosecutors convict defendants on 71 percent of drug trafficking charges filed, with 49 percent of the defendants sentenced to some form of incarceration.

The bureau’s most recent statistical report, prepared from 2004 data, indicates the average sentence for drug trafficking offenses was five years in prison, with violators serving an average of 28 months prior to parole.

The plea agreement that was struck with Sullivan stipulates that she would plead guilty to one of the five felony counts of drug distribution. That offense would be cleared from her record after two years if she complies with the terms of the agreement and avoids further run-ins with the law. The other four felony charges would be dismissed immediately.

Cik refused to speak specifically about the Sullivan case, referring questions to County Attorney Bernie Cassidy, who is prosecuting the case. Cassidy did not return phone calls.

Sullivan is due in court April 13, at which time Judge Wheelis will either accept her plea agreement and pronounce sentence or reject the agreement. Should he reject the agreement, Sullivan will have the option to withdraw her guilty plea and go to trial on all counts of the indictment.

Each of those five charges carries a sentence of two years to life in prison or a fine of up to $50,000 or both.