Meth lab felon sent back to prison

A 38-year-old former Hungry Horse man with a history of cycling in and out of prison and problems with drug use has been sentenced to two years in prison after his sentence in a 2000 meth lab bust was revoked.

Flathead County District Court Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Ryan Moskaloff on April 16. He gave Moskaloff credit for 168 days in the county jail but no credit for probationary time served.

Moskaloff has a long rap sheet. He was charged with felony theft in 1997, felony bailjumping in 1999, felony bailjumping again in 2000, felony meth production and probation violation in 2000, felony possession of dangerous drugs in 2000 and failure to register as a violent or sexual offender in 2014.

On Jan. 16, he pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a weapon and one count of criminal endangerment after witnesses claimed he fired multiple rounds with a shotgun at them from a camper trailer parked in Hungry Horse on Dec. 26, 2014. A man standing next to him was accidentally shot in the foot.

The Flathead County Attorney’s Office filed petitions to revoke Moskaloff’s sentence in the 2000 meth lab bust three times last year. State probation officers last March said Moskaloff was “unsuitable for community supervision” and recommended his sentence in the meth lab case be revoked.

Reported probation violations included failing to register and possession of drugs. Moskaloff admitted to the allegations in court on April 16. His defense attorney, Brent Getty, said Moskaloff agreed with the two-year prison sentence because he wanted to get the 15-year-old meth lab charge behind him.

Three felony charges from 2014 remain to be resolved — one count of failing to register as a violent or sexual offender and two assault charges relating to the shotgun incident.