C-Falls woman sentenced to 10 years for drug charge

A 21-year-old Columbia Falls woman who pleaded guilty to forgery and distribution of dangerous drugs, both felonies, was sentenced to 10 years with the Montana Department of Corrections with five suspended.

Stephani Konopatzke initially faced three felony counts of distribution of dangerous drugs, one felony count of burglary and one felony count of forgery. In a plea agreement signed Feb. 16 and accepted by Flathead County District Court Judge Ted Lympus, two of the drug charges and the burglary charge were dismissed.

Lympus sentenced Konopatzke to 10 years with five suspended for the remaining drug charge and a four-year deferred sentence for the forgery charge. He also ordered her to pay $321.77 in restitution and recommended her for appropriate placement at either Elk Horn Treatment Center, in Boulder, or the Passages treatment center, in Billings.

According to court records, Konopatzke allegedly sold four OxyContin (aka Oxycodone) pills to a confidential informant for $320 on Jan. 24, two pills for $160 the next day and two more pills for $150 on Feb. 3. The confidential informant wore a wireless transmitter on the last two deals.

Soon after she was bonded out, Konopatzke was arrested again and charged with allegedly stealing 15 blank checks from her grandmother and cashing some of them. Her grandmother said she had banned Konopatzke from her home because of previous theft incidents.

Using video from Super 1 Foods and Smith’s Food and Drugs, detectives confirmed that Konopatzke had written the checks. Altogether, she allegedly cashed stolen checks totaling $292.