Lincoln Co. woman gets prison time for probation violations

A Eureka woman convicted of drug offenses six years ago is in custody after violating her probation.

Julia Nicole Hart, 46, is lodged in the Lincoln County Detention Center after District Judge Matt Cuffe gave her a 5-year state Department of Corrections sentence on May 26.

According to court documents, Hart was recommended for placement at Elkhorn Treatment Center in Boulder, Montana. She did receive credit for serving 10 months in custody.

According to a 2016 story in The Western News, Hart and her husband, Deavan Ray Conard, 50, faced eight drug charges.

Conard was sentenced in 2017 to 10 years, with some of it suspended, according to Montana State Prison records. He received a conditional release from suspension in 2020.

Hart received a 10-year suspended sentence in 2017.

According to a petition to revoke on Feb. 6 by Flathead County Probation and Parole Officer Shelly Dargan, Hart admitted to using meth a few times in late January. Dargan wrote in her report that Hart has struggled with her sobriety since her return to Flathead County in August 2021.

The petition also indicated Hart completed treatment at the Recovery Centers of Montana in February 2022. But within a month, Hart had begun using illicit drugs and her struggles continued throughout 2022, Dargan reported.

The case began when law enforcement from Eureka City Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office executed a warrant oj May 6 to search Conard’s and Hart’s trailer, finding several illegal drugs.

Officers allegedly found 3.7 grams of methamphetamine, a scale and several pieces of paraphernalia.

Officers also allegedly found less than two grams of marijuana, producing two other arrests, aside from Conard and Hart, for possession of dangerous drugs.