Jessy Williams 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 April 9, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JESSY WILLIAMS, a 27-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. WILLIAMS was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 60 months, consecutive to another sentence
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
WILLIAMS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
In March of 2004, WILLIAMS was sentenced to 10 years prison for his actions in a home-invasion robbery. His sentence was enhanced for the use of a weapon. WILLIAMS was later paroled and was on parole during the events of this case.
On October 4, 2008, deputies with the Yellowstone County Sheriffs Office were sent to WILLIAMS' residence on a call that WILLIAMS was threatening a female with a firearm. As a deputy approached the residence, WILLIAMS came out onto the porch carrying a rifle. The deputy drew his sidearm and ordered WILLIAMS to drop the rifle. WILLIAMS did not comply, but instead ran around the back of the residence. The deputy pursued WILLIAMS and eventually arrested him after WILLIAMS dropped the rifle.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that WILLIAMS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, WILLIAMS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed Zink prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office 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."
