McMillan to serve five years after deferred sentence revoked

Alan Lynn McMillan will serve five years in the state Department of Corrections after his deferred sentence on a criminal possession of dangerous drugs charge was revoked Feb. 10.

McMillan, 50, of Libby, admitted to violating the portion of his probation that required he regularly check in with his supervising officer. He was serving a deferred three-year sentence following a plea deal he struck with prosecutors in April 2019.

Authorities arrested McMillan on Nov. 3, 2018, following a traffic stop. He initially was charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, driving with a suspended license, operating a motor vehicle without insurance and operating a motor vehicle with expired registration.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies took notice of McMillan while he was driving down 2nd Street in Libby at about 1 a.m., according to court documents. Spotting just a single working taillight, Deputy Brent Faulkner and then Detective Brad Dodson ran the vehicle’s plates and discovered the registration had expired.

When they stopped the vehicle, they found McMillan behind the wheel, court documents said. He admitted borrowing the truck from a friend behind bars, that the vehicle was unregistered, he had no proof of insurance and that he was driving with a suspended license, Faulkner wrote in his affidavit.

While Faulkner spoke with McMillan, Dodson approached the passengers in the vehicle. He spotted an open container of beer in the vehicle.

Dodson later saw a pipe on the passenger side floorboard. In his affidavit, Faulkner described it as the type used for smoking marijuana.

McMillan consented to a search of the vehicle. Dodson and Faulkner removed two beer cans and a pipe, court documents said.

During McMillan’s arrest, the two lawmen found a vial with 14 pills of oxycodone hydrochloride, a semi synthetic opioid usually used for severe pain relief, court documents said. Faulkner also reported the pair found several small containers on McMillan’s person, one containing crystalline shards that tested positive for methamphetamine.

Faulkner and Dodson also removed a pistol and ammunition from McMillan.

After his arrest, McMillan was released on personal recognizance, court documents said. Less than a week later, prosecutors sought to revoke bail after he failed a drug test.

McMillan pleaded guilty to a single count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs in April 2019 after striking a deal with prosecutors. He received his sentence in May of that year.

But by December, officials with the Lincoln County Probation Office had asked for a warrant for McMillan’s arrest. In an affidavit, Probation Officer Darrell Vanderhoef wrote that after checking in once in May 2019, McMillan disappeared until August.

Although officials instructed McMillan to check in regularly from then on, he failed to do so, Vanderhoef wrote. He stopped reporting, did not file a change of address and was considered a “probation absconder.”