Fitzpatricks enter plea deal on marijuana charges

Two former Havre medical marijuana caregivers each pleaded guilty to one set of felony charges that they were illegally selling pot, in exchange for a second set of charges from another year being dropped.

Delaine Fitzpatrick, born in 1977, and Malisa Fitzpatrick, born in 1982, each pleaded guilty in state District Court in Havre to multiple felony counts. The two sisters are living in Billings, their attorneys said.

The state attorney filed a motion to dismiss charges in the other cases contingent on their pleading guilty to the other charges.

Judge David Cybulski of Plentywood — the third judge in charges filed in 2012 and the fourth in charges filed in 2010 — has not yet signed the orders dismissing those charges.

In the plea deal with Delaine Fitzpatrick, the state is recommending a three-year deferred imposition of sentence on each charge, meaning if she abides by all conditions of release during probation, she could petition to have the felonies struck from her record.

The Hill County Clerk of Court’s office had not yet received a copy of a plea agreement for Malisa Fitzpatrick by deadline.

As part of the recommended conditions of release, Delaine Fitzpatrick would not be allowed to possess illegal drugs, including any natural or synthetic form of marijuana, and would not be allowed to possess a medical marijuana card.

Judge Cybulski ordered the probation and parole office in Billings to conduct presentence investigations, with the scheduling of sentencing dates pending completion of those investigations.

The pleas nearly bring to a close a long and complex series of legal charges against the two sisters, who first were charged in 2010 with multiple felonies alleging they had sold marijuana to an undercover agent who was not their legal patient and more often and in quantities greater than allowed under the medical marijuana law passed by Montana voters in 2004.

While that case was pending, felony charges were filed in November 2011 in Oregon against Delaine Fitzpatrick and Garrett Briere, also of Havre, alleging officers found 12 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle after they were stopped for a traffic violation.

That arrest occurred while a state appeal of a judge’s order dismissing the 2010 charges was pending.

District Judge Julie Macek of Great Falls — who was the third judge in the case, after the Fitzpatricks twice asked judges to recuse themselves — dismissed the charges in August 2011, saying the state had used outrageous conduct in having a law enforcement officer illegally apply for a false driver’s licence and medical marijuana card.

Last December, the Montana Supreme Court overturned that decision, saying in its decision that limited participation by police in illegal activities necessary for crime detection does not violate fundamental fairness or due process.

While the appeal and the Oregon case were pending, Delaine and Malisa Fitzpatrick were charged again in Havre following an undercover operation using confidential informants working with the Safe Trails Tri-Agency Task Force.

The state arrested and charged the sisters in April 2012, alleging the two illegally sold marijuana, “kief” or hashish, and “spice,” a name for a synthetically made marijuana substitute.

An April 18 search found more than 12.68 pounds of prepared marijuana and 44 marijuana plants, the documents said, and also found hashish, or kief, and marijuana-infused butter, which the defendants are not registered to possess under the current law, charging documents said.

The search also found a handgun, which officers seized, and $36,601.94, which also was seized. $400 of that was identified as being used during controlled purchases, the documents said.

As per the plea agreement, Delaine Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs, two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and one count of possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture from the 2012 charges. The state has moved that the 2010 charges be dismissed.

Malisa Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to charges filed in 2010, two counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute. The state has moved that the 2012 charges against her be dismissed.