Belcourt man to serve 360 days for involvement with transporting fentanyl in Grand Forks County
May 30—GRAND FORKS — A Belcourt man changed his plea Wednesday, May 28, and was sentenced to five years in prison, first serving 360 days, for committing fentanyl crimes in Grand Forks County.
Christian Lee LaRocque, 22, pleaded guilty to his two felony charges: Class A felony possession of at least 40 grams of fentanyl with intent to deliver and Class C felony unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Class A felony charge has a maximum 20-year prison sentence, but with credit for time served since Oct. 26, he has 145 days remaining in custody.
After release, LaRocque will be on supervised probation for three years. He forfeited any items seized in the case, and must also complete a chemical dependency evaluation within 60 days.
LaRocque was part of a group of five people who were
pulled over on Oct. 25 after law enforcement tracked them on suspicion that they were involved in transporting drugs
from Detroit, Michigan, to North Dakota, according to a declaration of probable cause filed in the case.
It was believed that the group planned to bring the drugs to the Turtle Mountain Reservation.
Law enforcement located a vehicle that was speeding and, after pulling it over, established probable cause to search it because of a marijuana odor, the declaration said.
They found a bag of fentanyl in the back of the driver's seat that weighed 90.31 grams, another bag in the back of a rear passenger seat that weighed 104.72 grams, drug paraphernalia, eight fentanyl pills inside of a soda can and 15.5 Suboxone pills.
At the time, LaRocque said he was working for the task force and only got involved because he knew law enforcement was looking for Olivia Rain Patneaud; he said he planned on attempting controlled buys from her, according to the declaration.
Law enforcement knew this was not actually the case.
Patneaud and two other defendants, Jomell Emery Helm and Melvin Earl Byrd, have been indicted by a grand jury on federal drug charges: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and two counts of maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Their state-level cases were dismissed. At this time, their trials are scheduled for June 24.
The final defendant, Darla Rae Belgarde,
pleaded guilty to the same felony charges as LaRocque
in February and was sentenced to six years in prison. She was the driver of the vehicle that was pulled over, according to court documents.
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