Jeremy T. Lauzon Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Helena, on December 9, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JEREMY T. LAUZON, a 34-year-old resident of Billings, was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 21 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 3 years

LAUZON 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 Brendan P. McCarthy, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On December 27, 2000, LAUZON was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance in the State of Oregon which prohibited him from possession of firearms.

At approximately 8:41 p.m. on August 30, 2011, a sergeant with the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to a residence in Billings regarding a complaint about a neighbor who fired a gun. When the sergeant arrived, he spoke with M.C. who stated that her neighbor, LAUZON, fired a gun into the ground near her boyfriend, J.K., and their two daughters. M.C., however, did not witness the incident.

The sergeant spoke with the two daughters and J.K. The daughters stated that there was an argument earlier that day with LAUZON about LAUZON's dogs entering their backyard. Later that day, the children were in their backyard with their dad when the dogs again ran onto their property. The children returned the dogs to LAUZON who was standing in his backyard. J.K., however, stated that he could overhear LAUZON yelling at the girls and telling them that the dogs could go wherever they wanted. J.K. then became upset and started to walk quickly toward LAUZON. According to J.K., he was about twenty to thirty feet away from LAUZON when LAUZON started to walk toward him. They were both arguing with each other. LAUZON then pulled out a gun from his side and fired it into the ground. The children and J.K. then turned around and retreated back into their house.

Additional units arrived on scene and helped search for LAUZON. LAUZON was subsequently detained. LAUZON admitted that he fired the gun into the ground. LAUZON also consented to a search of his residence. In an office in the residence, the officers recovered a Hi-Point model CF380 .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun.

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