Libby woman sentenced for meth possession

A Libby woman received a suspended sentence on Jan. 3 for the felony possession of methamphetamine.

Christine Renae Quinn, 52, was charged after a March 26, 2022, incident in Libby. She appeared in Lincoln County District Court on Monday, Nov. 7 and pleaded guilty, which District Court Judge Matt Cuffe accepted.

Cuffe gave Quinn a 2-year suspended sentence. She received credit for time served after her arrest.

Cuffe said the sentence was appropriate because Quinn's criminal history is "scant." But the judge also said there things of concern in the pre-sentence investigation before wishing her good luck.

According to court documents, Quinn had five previous felony drug charges, four of which were dismissed. A fifth resulted in a 2-year deferred sentence.

According to court documents, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies were monitoring suspected drug deals on March 26 happening at various casinos in Libby.

At one point they allegedly saw Jamie Ray Abrahamson, 42, get into a vehicle of a suspected drug dealer. Deputies were advised that Abrahamson had a warrant for his arrest for a probation violation.

Deputies pulled over the vehicle and saw Abrahamson in the back seat. He was taken into custody without incident.

Abrahamson, who was later charged with possessing meth, also appeared on video at the Jan. 3, 2023, hearing. His case is scheduled for a 2-day trial on Jan. 16-17. Abrahamson is in the Lincoln County Detention Center after he was arrested in December. He was taken into custody after a warrant was issued for his arrest after missing prior court dates last fall.

In the Quinn case, sheriff’s Deputy James Derryberry said he saw her sitting in the front seat and recognized Quinn from having prior contact with law enforcement. He also said he knew her to be a user of dangerous drugs.

Derryberry told Quinn and the driver of the vehicle he was going to have K-9 Bear do a search of the car. The officer told the driver if the dog didn’t alert on the vehicle, he and Quinn could leave in it. She then asked to get her phone from the car. Derryberry said she reached into the car toward a purse, but then said her phone was in her pocket.

According to court documents, Quinn then walked away. The dog then alerted on the driver’s side door. Two days later, on March 28, Derryberry and Captain Boyd White searched the vehicle, an orange 2007 Ford Escape. They found a purse with Quinn’s ID and a vial with a white crystal substance that tested positive for meth.