Deferred meth sentence from 2008 revoked

A 23-year-old Columbia Falls man was sentenced to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections after his deferred sentence in 2009 for possessing methamphetamine with intent to sell was revoked.

Flathead County District Court Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Joshua Welliver on Sept. 29 to 10 years with five suspended and credit for time served.

Welliver's most recent run-in with the law came July 16 when he was arrested at Casey's Bar in Whitefish. Officers dispatched to the saloon had arrested another Columbia Falls man, Michael Cantu, 22, after he pulled a knife on a patron and was pursued into a back alley, where a search turned up five small bags of meth.

Meanwhile inside the bar, a bouncer had subdued Welliver, who was found to have a $10,000 warrant stemming from his January 2008 arrest at Motel 6 in Kalispell.

Police responding to a report of several males snorting drugs at the motel allegedly found Welliver, his girlfriend, a pit bull, 15 syringes, a propane burner, a large amount of "cutting agent" and 44 grams of methamphetamine in the motel room.

After admitting to "trying to make a buck," Welliver struck a plea deal on his felony drug charge, and Lympus gave Welliver a six-year deferred sentence.

Welliver moved to a rental on Terrace Court in Columbia Falls, but as probation officers later reported, he "did not adjust" to his probation conditions. A Marlin .22-caliber rifle and .40-caliber ammunition were allegedly found in the house, along with alcohol and drug paraphernalia and another man on probation - Bo Gravelin.

Welliver also allegedly failed to pay on his fines or supervision fees, drove without a valid license, tested positive for marijuana and was not employed. The Terrace Court residence attracted Columbia Falls police attention for several months this past spring.