Whitefish man sentenced on heroin charge

A Whitefish man who admitted selling heroin to an informant just eight days after being released on house arrest in another case has been given a four-year sentence.

Oswald Lenzsch, 23, sold half a gram of the drug to the informant for $175 on Dec. 11.

In exchange for pleading guilty to a felony charge of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs, a second case — alleging Lenzsch sold a larger amount of heroin to a confidential informant, leading to two further counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs — was dismissed in its entirety.

During Flathead District Court proceedings on Oct. 24, Judge David Ortley sentenced Lenzsch to four years with the Montana Department of Corrections to be followed by four years of probation.

Ortley recommended Lenzsch be placed in either the Connections Corrections chemical dependency program or Nexus, a treatment center for men — both with the Corrections Department — to be followed by placement in prerelease to ease his transition back into the community.

Lenzsch was also ordered to pay a $500 fine.