Man faces revocation for drug charge
A 36-year-old Columbia Falls man faces revocation of a deferred 2008 drug possession sentence after he was arrested for criminal possession of drugs during a traffic stop last year.
According to court documents, Jamie Boles was under investigation by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations in early 2007 when a state agent and a Kalispell police officer met with a confidential informant to arrange a cocaine purchase from Boles.
The informant purchased 15.5 grams of cocaine from Boles at Smith’s Food and Drug in Kalispell. Boles was arrested and charged with one felony count of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs.
In a plea agreement reached in late 2008 and agreed to by Flathead County District Court Judge Katherine Curtis in April 2009, Boles received a deferred sentence to a reduced charge of intent to distribute, three years probation and a $1,000 fine. Curtis cited Boles’ limited criminal history in approving the plea agreement.
Boles, however, ran into problems with the law over the next few years. According to his probation officer, he was charged in August 2009 for driving with no insurance following a vehicle accident; he pleaded guilty in Columbia Falls City Court in May 2010 to having a vicious dog at-large; and he was charged again in Columbia Falls in September 2010 for having a vicious dog at-large and obstructing a police officer.
Then, on Jan. 22, 2011, Boles was arrested following a traffic stop on U.S. 93 near Rose Crossing. According to the sheriff’s office report, Boles admitted he had 2 1/2 to 3 ounces of medical marijuana with him, but state law limited possession of medical marijuana to one ounce.
A search of a backpack in Boles’ vehicle uncovered a tin containing about 100 grams of hash, another tin containing 0.4 ounces of hash and marijuana bud, a glass jar containing 15 grams of marijuana, a glass marijuana or hash pipe, a digital scale and pills in an unmarked prescription bottle.
Boles was charged with one count of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs following the traffic stop. On Dec. 22, 2011, Whitefish attorney Jack Quatman took over Boles’ defense. A revocation hearing for the earlier case is set for May 31.