District Court News

A sentencing hearing was held Thursday in Fourth Judicial District Court in Sheridan for a man charged with burglary. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

During the early morning hours of October 6, 2022, a Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office deputy while on patrol, noticed a vehicle parked between two storage unit buildings at a storage unit facility on Coffeen Avenue. The incident led to the arrest of Jason Bell, Dustin Beadle and Drell Amende for breaking into a number of storage units. Bell, at a hearing Thursday in District Court, was sentenced for the charge of felony burglary.

District Court Judge Ben Kirven accepted the terms of the plea agreement reached with the State, and sentenced Bell to 2 ½ to 5 years in prison, suspended in favor of a split-sentence of 218 days of time served and three years of supervised probation. Bell was also ordered to pay $275 in various court costs, $500 in public defender fees and $30 in restitution.

Also from Thursday’s docket: An arraignment hearing was held for Gena Dvarishkis. At the hearing, Dvarishkis entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of felony possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine. District Court Judge Ben Kirven set an October 23 date for the three-day trial to begin and scheduled a pretrial conference for September 28 at 9 am. Kirven also granted a motion from the defendant to modify bond so that she can travel throughout the state and Montana for medical reasons.

According to court documents, Dvarishkis was arrested on March 10, 2023 after a deputy with the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for her residence after receiving information that identified Dvarishkis as a felony theft suspect. During the search, the deputy found over three grams of methamphetamine and paraphernalia affiliated with methamphetamine use. If convicted, Dvarishkis faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.