Dinning enters Alford plea, receives sentence for assault

Sarah Dinning was sentenced earlier this month to 180 days in the Lincoln County jail, all of which were suspended for a period of six months by Libby City Court Judge Lucille Briggs

Dinning was arrested Dec. 4 and charged with assault following an altercation at a local dentist’s office with another woman.

Dinning entered an Alford plea Dec. 18, as part of an agreement with the prosecutor. An Alford plea is slightly different from a guilty plea, as the defendant does not admit guilt in the case. Instead, the defendant concedes that prosecutors likely have enough evidence to secure a conviction.

The suspended jail sentence is dependent upon Dinning satisfactorily completing three conditions.

First, Dinning has been ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution to the victim, Darcy May. Dinning paid $585 bond at the time of her arrest to secure her release from jail. The court has assessed a fee of $285, to be deducted from that bond. The remaining $300 will be applied to the restitution amount. The remaining $11,700 must be paid in full by Aug. 10, 2015, according to the sentencing document.

Second, Dinning must complete a minimum of 40 hours of anger management counseling, which may include chemical dependency treatment. The documents state “an alcohol evaluation, counseling and treatment if necessary, must be completed and prior to domestic abuse counseling.”

The final condition of the suspended sentence is a standard probation requirement that the defendant not violate any laws during the suspension period.