TNC
12-01-2004, 10:29 AM
Convicted murderer pleads guilty to meth charge
By KELLYN BROWN, Chronicle Staff Writer
A Bozeman man previously convicted of murder pleaded guilty Monday to possessing methamphetamine, which will likely land him back in prison.
Kelly Duane Zavalney, 43, is being prosecuted as a persistent felony offender. And despite the fact that he possessed less than a gram of meth last year, he faces five to 100 years in Montana State Prison.
On March 24, 1989, Zavalney shot and killed Elvard Berrett during an attempted armed robbery in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He served 10 years of a life sentence and moved back to Bozeman in May 1999.
When Zavalney was caught with meth in November of last year, the county attorney's office here originally was not going to file charges against him. The presumption was Idaho authorities would send him back to prison for breaking the conditions of his parole.
Instead, the parole board there gave him a warning, which didn't sit well with local prosecutors.
Zavalney, who grew up in the Gallatin Valley and went to Belgrade High School, was arrested here June 14.
From the outset, it was clear prosecutors thought Zavalney's punishment should be more than just a warning for breaking parole.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Todd Whipple asked for $5 million bail in the case, but District Judge Holly Brown settled on $10,000.
Whipple eventually garnered a $100,000 bond for Zavalney after he was arrested again in August for failing a drug test while out on bond.
Zavalney has remained in jail since then. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2005.
In court Monday, Zavalney acknowledged he had meth in his car for personal use, which was seized by officers during a routine probation search on Nov. 23 of last year.
Before his arrest, however, it appears Zavalney had a clean criminal record since he was released from prison five years ago. His attorney, Bill Bartlett, will likely point this out to Brown at Zavalney's sentencing hearing next month.
But it's no secret that Whipple considers Zavalney a threat to Gallatin County. He openly disagreed with Brown when she set Zavalney's original bond at $10,000.
Whipple previously said, "Just because the Idaho Department of Corrections doesn't care there is a convicted murderer living in Bozeman and using meth doesn't mean the courts shouldn't."
Along with a maximum 100-year prison term, Zavalney could face a $50,000 fine.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/12/01/news/zavalneyplea.txt
By KELLYN BROWN, Chronicle Staff Writer
A Bozeman man previously convicted of murder pleaded guilty Monday to possessing methamphetamine, which will likely land him back in prison.
Kelly Duane Zavalney, 43, is being prosecuted as a persistent felony offender. And despite the fact that he possessed less than a gram of meth last year, he faces five to 100 years in Montana State Prison.
On March 24, 1989, Zavalney shot and killed Elvard Berrett during an attempted armed robbery in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He served 10 years of a life sentence and moved back to Bozeman in May 1999.
When Zavalney was caught with meth in November of last year, the county attorney's office here originally was not going to file charges against him. The presumption was Idaho authorities would send him back to prison for breaking the conditions of his parole.
Instead, the parole board there gave him a warning, which didn't sit well with local prosecutors.
Zavalney, who grew up in the Gallatin Valley and went to Belgrade High School, was arrested here June 14.
From the outset, it was clear prosecutors thought Zavalney's punishment should be more than just a warning for breaking parole.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Todd Whipple asked for $5 million bail in the case, but District Judge Holly Brown settled on $10,000.
Whipple eventually garnered a $100,000 bond for Zavalney after he was arrested again in August for failing a drug test while out on bond.
Zavalney has remained in jail since then. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2005.
In court Monday, Zavalney acknowledged he had meth in his car for personal use, which was seized by officers during a routine probation search on Nov. 23 of last year.
Before his arrest, however, it appears Zavalney had a clean criminal record since he was released from prison five years ago. His attorney, Bill Bartlett, will likely point this out to Brown at Zavalney's sentencing hearing next month.
But it's no secret that Whipple considers Zavalney a threat to Gallatin County. He openly disagreed with Brown when she set Zavalney's original bond at $10,000.
Whipple previously said, "Just because the Idaho Department of Corrections doesn't care there is a convicted murderer living in Bozeman and using meth doesn't mean the courts shouldn't."
Along with a maximum 100-year prison term, Zavalney could face a $50,000 fine.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/12/01/news/zavalneyplea.txt