The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on August 1, 2012, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, MICHAEL McCUEN, a 41-year-old resident of Laurel, appeared for sentencing. McCUEN was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 42 months

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: 3 years

McCUEN was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Vincent Carroll, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

McCUEN had been previously convicted of felony charges and thereby was prohibited from possession of firearms.

On December 23, 2010, McCUEN was riding in his vehicle while a friend was driving, and the MHP pulled over the vehicle for having a broken taillight. The officer obtained a search warrant to search the vehicle because McCUEN and the driver had marijuana, but neither had a medical marijuana card. During the search, a Lorcin, model L25, .25 Caliber semi-auto pistol was found on the floorboard under the seat next to where McCUEN was sitting. McCUEN later made a statement indicating that the pistol was his.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that McCUEN will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, McCUEN 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 Montana Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

 

 

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