C-Falls man sentenced for meth lab
A 45-year-old Columbia Falls man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison with 13 years suspended and no chance for parole in the first two years after he pleaded guilty to operating a clandestine methamphetamine lab.
Flathead County District Court Judge Heidi Ulbricht sentenced George Burger Jr. on Feb. 26. As part of a plea deal signed last October, a second charge of theft was dismissed. Burger was given credit for 267 days served and was remanded to the sheriff.
According to court records, Burger was accused of stealing a raft and other items from a garage in September 2012. The homeowner reported finding the missing items at the Replay Sports store in Kalispell in March 2013, and Burger was identified as the person who sold the items.
On July 20, 2013, deputies were dispatched to Columbia Falls Stage Road after Burger allegedly rammed a vehicle carrying Beverly George, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, George’s boyfriend and Burger’s daughter. Burger was charged with criminal endangerment in that case.
Then, on Jan. 4, 2014, George reported a disturbance at her home and said Burger had left in a black Ford Bronco. A deputy spotted the Bronco in a ditch while responding to the call and arrested him. During booking, Burger was found in possession of a “snort” tube with white powdery residue.
George also told deputies that Burger had a meth lab in a red van. Officers with a search warrant allegedly found pseudoephedrine blister packs, a bottle of drain cleaner, coffee filters, beakers, a plate with white residue, and a Pyrex cup with white residue.
In court, Burger admitted to having been convicted of a misdemeanor drug crime in 1993, theft in 1995 and receipt of stolen property in 2003. He argued, however, that he needed to be released so he could take care of his 23-year-old autistic son and his two younger children, 11 and 13.
After he was released and put on a GPS monitor, Burger allegedly violated the conditions of his probation by visiting George at her home for several hours. A petition to revoke his bond was filed on Dec. 24 last year.
George, meanwhile, was charged with one count of being in possession of precursor chemicals used to make meth. A plea deal was signed Feb. 27 and she pleaded guilty by Alford plea, meaning she maintains her innocence but acknowledges that the evidence against her is overwhelming.
In the plea deal, the state and her attorney recommended a 3-year deferred sentence under the supervision of the state probation office. Sentencing is scheduled for June 4.