The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on November 9, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JOSEPH DEAN LIRA, a 39-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. LIRA was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 382 months

Special Assessment: $200

Supervised Release: 5 years

LIRA was sentenced after a federal district court trial in which he was found guilty of possession with the intent to distribute of methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime or in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora prosecuted the case for the United States.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LIRA will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LIRA 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 Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

 

 

Return to Top