From the courts: District Court

A Choteau man received five years probation Tuesday in District Court in Havre for having methamphetamine while in Havre.

Brandon Gratz Seaman, born in 1974, received a suspended sentence of five years with the Department of Corrections for the offense of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs. The sentence is part of a plea deal that dismissed misdemeanor charges of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to carry proof of insurance.

A Havre Police Officer stopped Seaman Feb. 24 after he noticed a blue Lincoln LS make an improper lane change and turn onto the 1300 Block of First Avenue, a court document said.

Seaman handed the officer his registration and driver’s license but did not give him proof of insurance. Seaman had two other passengers in the car and told the officer he was on his way to pick up someone else. Seaman said he was on probation for aggravated battery in Choteau.

After speaking to the passengers, two officers concluded that Seaman’s and the passenger’s statements were inconsistent.

A third officer asked Seaman if there were illegal drugs in the car. Seaman said there weren’t, hesitating when asked if there was methamphetamine specifically. Seaman gave officers permission to search the vehicle. As an officer began filling out the consent to search form, Seaman “began to question the search and appeared nervous,” the charging document said. At that time, Seaman’s probation officer told officers, through the dispatcher, that they could search the vehicle.

The search revealed a digital scale and three plastic bags with meth.