Sheila L. Labo Sentenced in U.S. District Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on October 14, 2009, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, SHEILA L. LABO, a 41-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. LABO was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 16 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
LABO was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed Zink, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In 2003 in Wisconsin, LABO was convicted of storing ammonia in an illegal container and thereby prohibited from possessing firearms.
In December of 2008, in Billings, a man reported the theft of two guns from his truck. They were identified as a Taurus "Raging Bull 500," .50 caliber revolver and a muzzleloader rifle.
The victim reported that LABO, his ex-girlfriend, was the only person who had access to the combination keypad for his truck. He immediately identified her as the likely suspect because the theft was done without damage to the truck.
A Billings Police detective conducted a search of pawn transactions and learned that LABO pawned the guns at two different pawn shops. She pawned the Taurus revolver on December 15, 2008.
When interviewed by an Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, LABO admitted taking the guns.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LABO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LABO 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 Billings Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
This conviction is yet another important outcome from Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national priority of the United States Department of Justice. PSN is designed as a partnership between federal and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun-related crime through the vigorous enforcement of the criminal provisions of the federal firearms laws. In Montana, the effort under PSN is called "Catch and No Release."
