Man sentenced after tipping police off to crime

A Whitefish man who reportedly tipped law enforcement off to a meth lab in his vehicle while being arrested for another crime was sentenced earlier this week.

Zachary Matthew Gargasz, 30, was given a 10-year suspended sentence with the Department of Corrections on Oct. 6 after pleading guilty in Flathead District Court to a felony charge of the operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory.

Gargasz reportedly asked a deputy for his coat while sitting in a patrol car after being arrested for unlawful entry into a home on Blanchard Lake Road on March 20, 2017. The deputy fetched Gargasz’s coat, but upon pat searching it for weapons, located a syringe, according to court documents. After allegedly finding the syringe, officers dispatched a K-9 unit to the scene, which alerted police to illegal drugs inside Gargasz’s vehicle.

Members of the Northwest Drug Task Force were granted a search warrant and found a variety of items that indicated Gargasz had been manufacturing methamphetamine, including drain cleaner, a bottle of Coleman brand fuel, a mason jar with liquid with sediment, a funnel, and baggies containing an unknown substance.

The Montana State Crime Lab tested the items, and concluded it was consistent with substances used to manufacture meth. A law enforcement check of the National Precursor Log Exchange also showed Gargasz had purchased ephedrine/psuedoephedrin, known ingredients in the manufacturing of meth, 26 times in the preceding 10 months.

Law enforcement reportedly made contact with Gargasz again just five days after the incident, on March 25, when he allegedly shoplifted a coat from Sportsman and Ski Haus. This time, an officer reportedly found a small bag of what was later confirmed as meth, as well as two debit cards in other people’s names.

Gargasz’ sentence is set to run simultaneously with two other cases from Lincoln County. Additional conditions of his parole include the payment of a $1,000 fine and a $400 public defender fee.

Reporter Breeana Laughlin can be reached at 758-4441 or blaughlin@dailyinterlake.com.