Cory Michael Louden and Derek Gene Sherlock Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on February 28, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, CORY MICHAEL LOUDEN, age 22, and DEREK GENE SHERLOCK, age 26, residents of Helena, appeared for sentencing.
LOUDEN was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 9 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 3 years
SHERLOCK was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 10 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 3 years
They were sentenced in connection with their guilty pleas to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.
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 May 17, 2009, B.R. possessed and provided cocaine to LOUDEN and SHERLOCK. LOUDEN and SHERLOCK were then arrested after they went to a store in Great Falls with approximately 1.5 ounces of cocaine to sell to an undercover officer. When interviewed, LOUDEN and SHERLOCK indicated that they were selling the cocaine for B.R.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that they will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, they do 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, the Great Falls Police Department, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and the Great Falls High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force (Central Montana Drug Task Force).
