Man sent to prison for multiple felony drug convictions

A North Dakota man was sentenced to two concurrent prison terms and additional jail time on Tuesday in Mitchell for multiple felony drug charges.

Justin Chandler Goettle, 20, of Stanley, N.D., received a four-year prison term, with two years suspended, and a concurrent two-year prison term for two felony drug charges. He also received an additional 30 days in jail and was ordered to pay all court costs relating to his case.

He pleaded guilty in September to possession of methamphetamine and possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana.

Goettle pleaded guilty Tuesday to an additional felony charge for failing to appear at his original sentencing hearing in November.

“I know what I did was foolish,” Goettle told Judge Sean O’Brien on Tuesday afternoon at the Davison County Public Safety Center.

“Foolish is probably an understatement,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien said if Goettle had been present for his original sentencing hearing, he would have received a suspended execution of his sentence.

“You have just shown a complete lack of taking responsibility,” O’Brien told Goettle. “I have no confidence that you would do well on probation.”

Goettle was given credit for 106 days served in jail.

He was first arrested for the drug charges on March 27. He and two others were arrested after their vehicle was stopped by South Dakota Highway Patrol on Interstate 90 in Mitchell.

A police report on the incident states South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper John Lord saw marijuana in plain sight in the vehicle. Marijuana and methamphetamine was found in the vehicle after police conducted a more thorough search.

Tags: news, updates, crime, courts, drugs, prison, marijuana, meth