Tyrell John Molina Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on April 28, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, TYRELL JOHN MOLINA, a 24-year-old resident of Rocky Boy, pled guilty to burglary. Sentencing is set for August 10, 2009.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On June 28, 2007, it was discovered that someone had broken into a building at Stone Child College and stolen an Arctic Cat quad, an air compressor, and over $12,000 in equine equipment, including seven saddles.
On August 8, 2007, MOLINA was arrested for conduct unrelated to the burglary at Stone Child College. While booking MOLINA into jail, it was discovered that he had a quad key in his possession.
On August 9, 2007, when interviewed by law enforcement, MOLINA admitted that he had broken into the building at Stone Child College on June 28, 2007, and moved several saddles and various other items of horse riding equipment out of the building. MOLINA stated that he then kicked another door open to get into the garage and loaded the saddles and other equipment on to the Arctic Cat and drove it to a coulee near his mother's house, where he hid it.
MOLINA stated that the next morning he enlisted Lionel Molina's help to move the stolen equipment to another location.
Law enforcement located the stolen Arctic Cat in a coulee near MOLINA'S mother's house and also recovered the stolen air compressor from the individual who had purchased it from MOLINA. The equine equipment was not recovered.
The stolen equipment was valued at $13,000.
Lionel Molina pled guilty to federal charges and is awaiting sentencing.
MOLINA faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $50,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Chippeway-Cree Law Enforcement Division.
A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
