A 22-year-old Columbia Falls man pleaded guilty Thursday in Flathead District Court to a felony charge of drug possession and a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.

Darrin Farrell faced the charges in two separate cases.

In the first case, Farrell was charged with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals and three felony counts of cruelty to animals. The charges came after several dogs were found in August 2011 in a trailer with no food or water, surrounded by feces and urine.

Although Farrell pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge, he argued that there was a bag of food on the front steps of the trailer and that there was urine and feces because they were getting ready to replace the flooring in the trailer, from which he was in the process of moving out.

In the second case, Farrell was charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and misdemeanor criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

The charges were filed after Farrell was arrested on a warrant on Dec. 29, 2011. During the arrest, Farrell told the officer she was not going to like what was in his pockets. He had a small amount of methamphetamine and several items of drug paraphernalia, including a syringe.

In exchange for pleading guilty to the two charges, the charges of felony animal cruelty and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia were dropped. The plea agreement also suggests a total sentence of four years, all suspended, although Farrell reserves the right to argue for a lesser sentence.

Farrell’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 23.