Cocaine dealer gets two years prison

PABLO - A 43-year-old Pablo woman was committed to the Montana state Department of Corrections for 10 years with eight years suspended last week for dealing cocaine.

Judy Harlow was sentenced in Lake County District Court by Judge C.B. McNeil on May 20. In an April 15 hearing, the defendant admitted to felony criminal distribution of drugs.

According to court documents, Harlow was arrested for two instances of dealing cocaine and also found with methamphetamine in her possession upon a search in the month of March 2007.

The Northwest Drug Taskforce used informants to arrange for two drug deals on March 9 and March 14 of 2007. On both occasions, the informant was told they were buying a drug referred to as “go fast,” which is slang for meth, but instead were sold a substance that tested for cocaine in the lab. Meth was later found in the Pablo residence, from where the woman was found to be dealing upon a subsequent search by the authorities.

At the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Ben Anciaux announced the defense planned to file a motion to appeal shortly after judgment and Harlow was given five days to comply with “remittitur.” This legal term is defined as an appeal’s transmittal of a case back to the trial court so the case can be retried, or an order entered consistent with the appeal’s court’s decision.

Anciaux requested that upon appeal the court set bail and release Harlow on her own recognizance with all terms of probation imposed. The state requested bail set at $5,000 upon appeal.