The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on December 13, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, DAVID PALUMBO, a 23-year-old resident of Evans, Washington, appeared for sentencing. PALUMBO was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 120 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 5 years

PALUMBO was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On December 5, 2009, PALUMBO, B.S., and R.H. were traveling in a vehicle in Flathead County purportedly for B.S. and R.H. to purchase cocaine from PALUMBO, however, they were actually setting him up for a robbery. B.S. stated he observed PALUMBO to have a large quantity of cocaine in a bag inside the vehicle they were traveling in. While all three were enroute to a residence where the "distribution of cocaine" was to take place, B.S. attempted to steal the cocaine from PALUMBO. B.S. and PALUMBO each presented firearms during the course of the robbery and fired them. B.S. was shot by PALUMBO multiple times and hospitalized. PALUMBO was not shot and escaped by foot with the cocaine.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that PALUMBO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, PALUMBO 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 a cooperative effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.

 

 

Return to Top