Northwest Montana man sentenced for drug crimes

A northwest Montana man with a criminal past charged in Lincoln County with methamphetamine possession received a 5-year suspended sentence on Monday, Dec. 18.

Justin Michael Gallery, 44, of Hungry Horse, was accused of felony possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court documents.  He pleaded guilty to drug possession on Oct. 30.

The deal for a 5-year suspended sentence was a joint recommendation between County Attorney Marcia Boris and public defender Ben Kolter. The sentence will run concurrently with a 5-year term he received in 2019 in Flathead County for violating the terms of his probation on a criminal distribution of dangerous drugs conviction following a 2017 incident in Flathead County.

He has been locked up in the Lincoln County Detention Center since June 1 with his bail set at $50,000.

In a probable cause statement by county Sheriff’s Office Deputy James Derryberry, he pulled over a green 1995 Ford Explorer driven by Gallery at 1:41 a.m. May 27 on U.S. 2 near Mountain Meadow Road.

A K-9 unit alerted to the odor of dangerous drugs inside the vehicle, Derryberry wrote in his report. He got a search warrant for the vehicle and allegedly found 20 grams of a white crystal substance that field tested positive for meth. The officer also said he found a glass pipe, digital scale with white residue and a snort tube, according to the charging document.

Derry reported interviewing Gallery in the Sheriff’s Office interview room. The officer wrote that Gallery allegedly gave a full confession to having meth and drug paraphernalia.

Gallery also faced a charge of attempted deliberate homicide in 2015 in Flathead County following a stabbing outside a casino.

According to court documents, he pleaded not guilty and the case was later dismissed when the state could not find the alleged victim and have him testify at trial. Flathead County Deputy Attorney John Donovan wrote in a court filing the case could not be proven without the testimony of the alleged victim.

According to court documents, police responded to a casino shortly after midnight on May 9, 2015. An officer found the victim lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds.

The following afternoon, the victim had recovered and spoke with police. He told them that he had an argument with Gallery’s girlfriend. Later, Gallery allegedly approached the victim in a van, broke out the windows and stabbed the man multiple times.