DESTRI TIMOTHY WILKS SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on September 26, 2012, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, DESTRI TIMOTHY WILKS, a 38-year-old resident of Columbus, appeared for sentencing. WILKS was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 24 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 3 years
WILKS 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 Paulette L. Stewart, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 17, 2007, WILKS was convicted of two counts of felony criminal distribution of dangerous drugs, which prohibited him from possessing firearms.
On November 16, 2011, WILKS admitted to shooting a deer with a Savage 7mm-8 caliber bolt-action rifle to a Stillwater County Sheriff's deputy. The deputy located the Savage rifle between WILKS and his wife in the front of a vehicle and took the rifle into evidence.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that WILKS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, WILKS 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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stillwater County Sheriff's Office.
