Former St. Ignatius man gets credit for 10-plus months for marijuana possession
Nicole Tavenner
Solomon Bolen
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POLSON — A former St. Ignatius man now living in Wyoming was given credit for 315 days served last week as part of a three-year suspended sentence for marijuana possession.
Judge James A. Manley gave Solomon Preston Bolen credit for 225 days in the Lake County Jail and 90 days at a counseling center in Casper.
Bolen, 36, was convicted at a bench trial on Jan. 6, 2017 for possession of 60 grams of marijuana, which defense attorney Britt Cotter said was just barely over the limit for a felony.
The sentence may have brought an end to Bolen’s saga in Lake County.
Two other cases consisting of multiple charges against him were dismissed in January and October of last year. These included: three charges of assault with a weapon, criminal possession with intent to distribute, robbery, burglary and theft.
The distribution charge was dismissed with prejudice, which means it can’t be refiled. The other charges were dismissed without prejudice. Prosecuting attorney Ben Anciaux said there were problems with using the testimony of a witness related to another case and getting a witness to testify.
According to court documents, Bolen had been charged with forcing a woman to sign a bill of sale for her 2002 Chevy Silverado pickup at gunpoint and with forcing her to sign the title to the vehicle and have it notarized at a bank. The woman said Bolen later traded the vehicle in Spokane for 10 pounds of marijuana, broke into her home and took numerous items, including a bass guitar, amplifier, Playstation 4, tools, radios, handheld radios, scopes and cash from a safe.
The woman asked that her insurance company be reimbursed for her medical bills because she was attacked by Bolen’s pit bull, which she said was later put down because it attacked a law enforcement officer.
According to court documents, 933 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found at Bolen’s girlfriend’s St. Ignatius home.
These cases were scheduled to be handled by a plea agreement, but that fell apart due to lack of an agreement about $74,000 in restitution that the state wanted Bolen to pay.
