Facing seven felony charges, Direll Donta Pirtle has agreed to a plea agreement. A hearing and a pre-sentence investigation haven’t been scheduled yet in Richland Co. District Court.
As part of the agreement, Pirtle made Nolo Contendre (no contest) pleas to the felony offenses of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, heroin, with intent to distribute; criminal possession of dangerous drugs, cocaine, with intent to distribute; criminal possession of dangerous drugs, meth, with intent to distribute; criminal possession of dangerous drugs, marijuana, with intent to distribute; criminal possession of dangerous drugs, oxycodone, with intent to distribute; use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture; and use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture.
The plea agreement calls for Pirtle to serve 20 years, all suspended, for each of the first four counts. Pirtle will be sentenced to the Montana Department of Corrections for five years for criminal possession of dangerous drugs, oxycodone, with intent to distribute. He will receive 10-year suspended sentences for the two use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture counts.
The sentences for the first four counts will run concurrent to each other and consecutive to the oxycodone charge. The last two counts will run concurrent to each other and consecutive to the first four counts. Overall, Pirtle is scheduled to be sentenced to the Montana State Prison for five years followed by 30 years suspended.
According to court documents, a Sidney police officer noticed a vehicle with a defective headlight on July 17, 2020, at about 1 a.m. When he drove to get a better look at the headlight, he saw that the vehicle had a California license plate and that the vehicle following displayed Arizona license plates. The officer followed both vehicles as they went north through Central Ave. With the vehicles going 34 miles per hour, the officer activated his overhead emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop of the Arizona plated vehicle for speeding. The officer radioed another officer regarding the California-plated vehicle.
Pirtle was driving the Arizona-plated vehicle. According to charging documents, Pirtle’s hands were shaking and he was speaking very fast. He had a torch style lighter on his lap. The officer informed Direll that he was going to give him a warning and had Direll join him in the patrol vehicle for enforcement action.
After a conversation in the patrol vehicle, the officer asked Direll if he could search Direll’s vehicle. Direll pointed his hands toward his vehicle and told the officer to go ahead. When the officer searched the trunk, he found a large bag containing numerous packages. One of the packages had a bag containing a clear crystalline substance believed to be meth.
The vehicle was then towed to the Richland County Law and Justice Center pending the application for a search warrant. At about 7:30 a.m., a search warrant was granted. Items seized included three medium sized zip-lock bags containing a white powdery substance, seven various size bags of narcotics, a plastic baggie with white residue, five tape wrapped bags of narcotics weighing roughly one pound each, a black hi-standard brand handgun with a suspected suppressor, two large bags of raw marijuana, jewelry bag with white residue, a bag containing numerous tablets of Oxycodone Hydrochloride and two marijuana roaches.
Reader Comments(0)