A Bismarck man has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison for his third conviction for delivery of methamphetamine.

Scott Kruckenberg was convicted by a jury of the Class Afelony in March. Class Afelonies carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000. A third conviction for delivery of a controlled substance carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison.

Kruckenberg previously was convicted in 1998 of two counts of delivery of methamphetamine, and he has several other felony convictions on his criminal record.

Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Lloyd Suhr moved on Tuesday to have Kruckenberg sentenced as an habitual offender, which allows for longer sentences to be handed down. South Central District Judge Gail Hagerty ruled that Kruckenberg was a habitual offender because of his two prior felony convictions.

Suhr then presented evidence to bolster his recommendation that Kruckenberg, 28, be sentenced to 40 years with 10 years suspended and five years of supervised probation. The evidence included a recorded telephone conversation, which occurred while Kruckenberg was being held in the Burleigh County Detention Center, between Kruckenberg and a confidential informant set to testify at trial against Kruckenberg.

In the conversation, Kruckenberg pressured the woman to change her story about who sold her drugs.

Suhr also said detention center staff had heard Kruckenberg make threatening statements in regard to a narcotics officer who had been the lead on the case. Kruckenberg's appointed defense attorney, Justin Roness, objected to the admittance of information about the threatening statements, as it was the first he had heard of them.

Roness asked that Kruckenberg not be given a sentence longer than called for by the mandatory minimum punishment for the offense. Kruckenberg told Hagerty he did not believe he should be considered an habitual offender.

"I've never been a violent person," he said. "I'm not a danger to anybody."

He said he had a full-time job before his arrest and was going to college. He admitted to having an addiction problem but said he had been getting his life together.

Hagerty said after hearing evidence at trial, reviewing Kruckenberg's record and considering the offense he had been convicted of, she disagreed he was putting himself on the right track.

"That's not somebody who's getting his life together," she said.

She sentenced Kruckenberg to 25 years in prison. She waived all fines and fees and said any income he generates should go to child support.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)