A Ronan woman admitted to her role in bringing fentanyl to Lake County to distribute. Dorthea Carman, 34, pled guilty in District Court in Polson Feb. 27 to criminal possession with intent to distribute.

The plea came as part of an agreement that calls for a joint recommendation of eight years in the Montana State Women’s Prison, with three years suspended. The judge is not bound by the agreement.

The case against her co-defendant, Gonzalo Valdivia Hernandez, 53, of Pasco, Wash., is pending.

According to court records, on Oct. 29, a law enforcement officer saw Hernandez traveling in a vehicle on U. S. Highway 93. The observing officer recognized Hernandez as being wanted for driving with a revoked or suspended license, and stopped his vehicle.

Hernandez was arrested and brought to the Lake County Jail. A search of the vehicle that he and his passenger, Carman, were in, yielded 405 fentanyl pills.

Carman allegedly admitted to traveling to Pasco, Wash., to purchase fentanyl, after she was advised of her rights. She indicated that she would purchase one thousand pills for a one dollar each, to resell in Ronan for $20 each.

When Hernandez was booked into the Lake County Jail, he was allegedly in possession of more than $4,000. When Carman was told about that she allegedly said, “That’s my money.”

Judge John Mercer set a sentencing date of April 17. Carman remains in jail with bail set at $150,000. Bail for Hernandez is set at $500,000.