"A Libby
man charged with three felony drug charges hopes to withdraw his guilty
plea after those drugs were mishandled at the state crime lab in 2015. On
February 15, 2015, Fernando Munguia was charged with criminal possession
of dangerous drugs. He was charged with criminal distribution of
dangerous drugs 11 days later, and in August received another felony
possession charge.
Munguia’s sentencing hearing is set for July 11. In April, Munguia pleaded guilty to
the first count, criminal possession, after reaching a plea agreement
with the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office that would dismiss the second
possession charge, according to court documents. On June 23, 2016, Munguia’s defense
attorney William Managhan filed a response to his client’s pre-sentence
investigation. In the response, Managhan seeks to strike the
distribution charge, which the state already dismissed prior to the plea
agreement because the evidence collected in the distribution charge
“may present significant difficulties at trial,” according to Managhan’s
motion.
Also in his response, Managhan asks
that if the county attorney’s office does abandon the plea agreement,
Munguia will be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. Managhan’s request
for withdrawal stems from issues at the State Crime Lab, where Steve
Brester, the employee that handled the drugs submitted for evidence
pertaining to multiple cases across the state, was later fired for
allegedly ingesting illegal drugs collected by the lab. “Several Montana courts have dismissed
charges based upon Mr. Brester’s involvement in the chain of custody,”
Managhan wrote in his response to the pre-sentence investigation.
“That’s state’s failure to disclose Mr. Brester’s involvement until
after Munguia changed his plea pursuant to the plea agreement is
sufficient grounds to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea.”
http://www.thewesternnews.com/news/july-sentencing-set-for-felony-drug-case/article_61ae0604-3faf-11e6-bd80-bf3248b34f73.html
