The Daily Inter Lake

Gordon Makarchuk, the man convicted of running a meth lab on the former Grossweiler dairy farmland along Stillwater Road northwest of Kalispell, was sentenced to 20 years in the state prison.

The 20-year sentence, with 10 years suspended, was handed down Thursday by District Judge Kitty Curtis during Makarchuk's sentencing hearing.

Deputy County Attorney Dan Guzynski and defense attorney John Putikka agreed on that recommendation, with Guzynski reducing the 20-year sentence backed by probation officer Paula Myer in her pre-sentence investigation report. He also noted that Makarchuk will still be a relatively young man when released from prison and will have the chance to change his life.

In Thursday's hearing, Putikka said "the state's position grossly over-exaggerates" Makarchuk's case, noting that by the time it went to trial it had been pending for three years.

Makarchuk also faces a charge of bail-jumping for not appearing at an earlier trial for this same charge and staying on the run for 2 1/2 years, Guzynski said. That trial has been scheduled separately.

Putikka also was frustrated that the County Attorney's Office had not come up with a dollar figure for costs involved in cleaning up the meth lab site, therefore not establishing restitution. Instead, the pre-sentence investigation report stated that the amount could be obtained by calling the Northwest Drug Task Force.

Curtis said that failure to make a phone call and get the dollar figure indicated a "cavalier" attitude on the part of the County Attorney's Office. She told Guzynski that either there would be a continuance or she would not require restitution.

Guzynski admitted he should have attended to that, and agreed to no restitution.

Also, with this being his first felony, Putikka argued that any prison sentence is inappropriate and that he should receive a deferred sentence. Most other felons not convicted of assault or other personal-violence crimes received deferred sentences, he said.

Guzynski called the idea of a deferred sentence "absolutely ridiculous."

Curtis agreed that most first-time felons get deferred sentences, but that she cannot recall giving one for a meth-lab operation. And that trend does not mean it is appropriate, presumed or what the Legislature intended for any specific case, she added. She also noted that Makarchuk took no pains to protect the safety of people in and around the trailer where the meth was being produced.

Saying that his client had served 427 days in the Flathead County Detention Center, Putikka asked credit for time served.

"Of course he will get credit for each and every day," Curtis told Putikka. "And the reason he spent time in jail and not out on bail is that he failed to comply with [terms of his release]. He wasn't here when he was supposed to be."

Trial was delayed further, she said, because either Makarchuk or his attorney was not prepared to proceed.

Agreeing that Makarchuk should have the opportunity to change his life and to show that he can be supervised in the community, she noted he can change in prison if he so chooses.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com