Meth user's deferred sentence revoked

Charged in 2011 with abandoning dogs

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The four-year deferred sentence of a 23-year-old former Columbia Falls man who abandoned four dogs and nine puppies at a trailer home in Evergreen in August 2011 has been revoked.

Darrin Farrell initially was charged with one misdemeanor count and three felony counts of cruelty to animals. The animals had no access to food or water for days.

Four months later, Farrell was charged with one felony count of possession of dangerous drugs and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia after Kalispell police officers tracked him down and found him in possession of methamphetamine and a syringe.

In a plea bargain last June, the felony counts of cruelty to animals and the misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge were dismissed.

Flathead County District Court Judge David Ortley sentenced Farrell last August to six months in the county jail for the misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals. He got credit for the 58 days he’d already spent in jail, and the rest was suspended. Ortley gave Farrell a four-year deferred sentence for the felony drug possession charge.

But according to his probation officer, instead of abiding with his probation requirements, Farrell became homeless and “reunited with the drug culture.” He failed to notify the probation officer of his address, submit regular reports or find full-time employment, and he was arrested on May 6 and charged with felony possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Farrell allegedly admitted to using meth three to four times a week for three months up to the time of his most recent arrest.

On July 25, Flathead County Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Farrell to five years with the Department of Corrections with two years suspended for the 2011 drug charge and five years all suspended and consecutive for the 2013 drug charge. Lympus recommended Farrell for placement at an appropriate drug treatment facility.