Joseph Maxwell Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on February 2, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JOSEPH MAXWELL, a 52-year-old resident of Red Lodge, appeared for sentencing. MAXWELL was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 24 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- In Lieu of Forfeiture, MAXWELL provided the U.S. Marshals Service with a cashiers' check for $25,000
- Supervised Release: 5 years
MAXWELL was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of over 500 grams of cocaine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora stated that the government would have proved at trial the following:
From 2006 until February 2009, MAXWELL was involved in a conspiracy with other individuals to possess and distribute cocaine in the Red Lodge area.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that MAXWELL will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, MAXWELL 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 Drug Enforcement Administration, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force.
