Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Helena, on December 17, 2009, before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, FELIPE ARRIAGA, a 29-year-old resident of Washington, appeared for sentencing. ARRIAGA was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 240 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 10 years

ARRIAGA was sentenced after having been found guilty during a 1-day trial of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll prosecuted the case for the United States.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ARRIAGA will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ARRIAGA does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was conducted by a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Havre Police Department, and the Safe Trails Drug Task Force.

 

 

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