Curtis Dustin Old Chief 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 Great Falls, on July 21, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, CURTIS DUSTIN OLD CHIEF, a 22-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. OLD CHIEF was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 36 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
OLD CHIEF was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On July 1, 2008, OLD CHIEF and four females were riding around Browning, which is within the exterior boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. OLD CHIEF was the driver and all five had been drinking. At approximately 3:30 p.m., the car that OLD CHIEF was driving entered a turn going too fast, left the road, and wrecked. One of the passengers died as a result of the injuries she received in the wreck.
OLD CHIEF'S blood-alcohol content shortly after the wreck was 0.11 gm/100ml.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that OLD CHIEF will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, OLD CHIEF 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Blackfeet Tribal Law Enforcement.
