Jeremiah Ray Cutsinger Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on June 29, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JEREMIAH RAY CUTSINGER, a 20-year-old resident of Ballantine, appeared for sentencing. CUTSINGER was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: time served (169 days)
Special Assessment: $50
Restitution: $950
Supervised Release: 1 year
CUTSINGER was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to theft of government money.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica T. Fehr, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On July 9, 2009, law enforcement was notified that the fee tube at the Emerald Lake Campground in Custer National Forest had been broken into and the money stolen out of it. Fee tubes are the stationary objects the USFS uses to collect camping fees in its campgrounds.
The reported theft occurred either late in the evening of July 8 or the early morning hours of July 9. The time line was determined through interviews of other campground guests. The amount stolen out of the fee tube would have been approximately $850.
On July 12, 2009, law enforcement was notified that the fee tube at Emerald Lake Campground had been broken into again and the money stolen. The incident occurred sometime late on July 11 or July 12. The lock had been broken off with some sort of pry bar. It was estimated that there would have been $50 to $100 in the fee tube.
On August 9, 2009, law enforcement encountered CUTSINGER and another individual as they attempted to break into vehicles parked at the Mystic Lake Trail head parking lot. Both individuals were arrested and questioned. Both individuals admitted to being at the campgrounds in July and to participating in the fee tube break ins. CUTSINGER admitted to breaking the fee tubes open while the other individual waited in the car. CUTSINGER and the other individual shared the cash removed from the fee tubes and threw the checks in the river. They estimated they had obtained $275 to $300 from the first fee tube they broke into at the Emerald Lake Campground and $100 the second time from the Emerald Lake Campground.
The investigation was conducted by the Law Enforcement and Investigations Division of the U.S. Forest Service.
