A Hailey man was sentenced Monday to 21 days in jail for selling marijuana in 2013 to a police confidential informant.
Sentence for Chase W. Uhrig, 23, on a felony charge of distribution of a controlled substance was pronounced in Blaine County 5th District Court by Judge Robert J. Elgee, who also placed Uhrig on probation for three years and gave him a five-year suspended prison sentence.
Uhrig, who had been free on $10,000 bond, was represented by Hailey attorney Douglas Nelson.
The conviction follows a grand jury indictment against Uhrig in September 2013, when he was charged with a more serious offense of trafficking in marijuana, which carries a mandatory prison sentence upon conviction. According to the original indictment, Uhrig was accused of selling at least a pound of marijuana and not less than 5 pounds, an offense which is punishable by a minimum sentence of at least a year in prison.
The charge was reduced to the a lesser offense of distribution of a controlled substance in a plea agreement reached between Uhrig and the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in March. According to court records, Uhrig pleaded guilty after the charge was reduced. The Idaho statute for distribution of a controlled substance does not provide for a minimum sentence.
The indictment against Uhrig states that he sold the marijuana in Blaine County on Feb. 27, 2013, to a police confidential informant, identified only as CI-13-02.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
