Arraignment Held for Man Facing Multiple Drug Charges

A virtual arraignment hearing was held Thursday in Fourth Judicial District Court in Sheridan for a man charged with two felony drug charges. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

Shortly after being pulled over by law enforcement for speeding on June 13, 27-year-old Matthew Anderton was placed under arrest and charged with two counts of Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance- Methamphetamine.  Anderton pleaded “not guilty” to both counts at an arraignment hearing Thursday. District Court Judge John Fenn set the #4 stack two-day trial to begin on Monday, December 14. The #4 stack means that there are three other trials scheduled for the same date. Judge Fenn scheduled the pretrial conference for November 12 at 10:30 am.

Sheridan County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher LaRosa filed a motion to have Anderton’s bond modified to include the condition of having the defendant submit to random drug testing at the Sheridan County Justice Office. LaRosa stated that Anderton has seven prior drug possession convictions in Utah and Oregon in the last several years. Judge Fenn granted the motion and modified the bond to include medium level drug testing at the Justice Office. If convicted on both counts, Anderton faces up to 12 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000.