A suspected drug dealer who allegedly struggled with police officers during his 2024 arrest in Columbia Falls later received a partially suspended sentence to the state Department of Corrections.  

Jeremy Lee Webster, 38, faced a felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute charge and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest when he was arraigned in Flathead County District Court in November 2024. Appearing before Judge Heidi Ulbricht, Webster pleaded not guilty to both counts.  

But Webster changed his tune by late March 2025. In a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge as well as an amended felony charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs.  

The agreement allowed Webster's defense attorney to seek a deferred sentence while prosecutors were to recommend he end up with the Department of Corrections. 

Ulbricht handed down a five-year sentence to the Department of Corrections with three years suspended for the felony charge, and a suspended six-month sentence in county jail for the misdemeanor on May 29. She gave him credit for 135 days of time served. 

Columbia Falls Police officers already had a warrant for Webster's arrest when they crossed paths with him on Ninth Street West on Oct. 24, 2024. Pulling away from the officers as they grabbed him, Webster threatened them, court documents said.  

"You are a dead piece of [expletive]," he allegedly said. 

One officer reported receiving scrapes to his hand and knee during the ensuing scuffle, according to court documents.  

Searching Webster after the struggle, officers uncovered a case labelled "Happy Kit." It contained two baggies with a white crystalline substance suspected of being amphetamines and methamphetamines weighing about 46 grams, court documents said. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].