Felony drug charges dropped

On Tuesday, September 12, Lawrence Sansone and Kellie Barton were once again on the docket at the Foster County Courthouse in Carrington.

Sansone and Barton were charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors after a multi-agency operation to execute a search warrant discovered $21,000 worth of drugs on a Carrington residence.

Involved in the operation were the Stutsman County Narcotics Task Force, Carrington Police Department, Foster County Sheriff's Office, N.D. Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the James Valley Special Operations Team.

"During the search of the residence, officers located methamphetamine, several 'M30' fentanyl pills, drug paraphernalia for repackaging illicit narcotics and drug paraphernalia to ingest illicit narcotics," allege court documents.

Also inside the home were Lawrence Sansone and Kellie Barton, and both were subsequently arrested and charged.

Barton pleaded not guilty to the four misdemeanor drug charges against her, and was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing/arraignment on Tuesday, Sept. 12 to address two additional felony charges.

However, a day before the hearing was set to begin, both felony charges Barton faced were dismissed, leaving no reason to hold the hearing.

Sansone, meanwhile, also pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges against him, but unlike Barton his felony charges were not dismissed, and he was due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing and arraignment on Tuesday.

But when the time came, Sansone was not in court for his hearing.

A bench warrant was subsequently ordered for his arrest, and District Court Judge James Hovey signed an order to forfeit his bond.

Sansone had previously posted bail in the amount of $5,000 cash on July 24.

When his bail was first set, Foster County State's Attorney Kara Brinster warned that Sansone had a history of not appearing for his court appearances.

Both Sansone and Barton are considered innocent unless proven guilty.