Leon Messerly Found Guilty in U.S. Federal Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that on June 16, 2009, in Great Falls, after a federal district court trial before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, LEON MESSERLY, a 48-year-old resident of Harlem, was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. MESSERLY and the victim are both Indian persons. Sentencing is set for October 15, 2009.
MESSERLY faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah J. French prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Fort Belknap Tribal Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
