Keith Daniel Skunkcap Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on May 10, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, KEITH DANIEL SKUNKCAP, a 21-year-old resident of Browning and an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 21 months

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: 3 years

SKUNKCAP was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to burglary.

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

On August 17, 2011, at approximately 2:00 a.m., SKUNKCAP entered the residence of T.L.G. The residence is located Browning, which is within the exterior boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

T.L.G., the owner of the residence, told SKUNKCAP to leave, but he refused. T.L.G. pointed to the back door of the residence, again requesting SKUNKCAP to leave. SKUNKCAP eventually pushed T.L.G. After being pushed, T.L.G. fell to the ground. As a result of the assault, T.L.G.'s upper lip was split open. T.L.G. was transported to Kalispell due to the seriousness of the facial laceration. T.L.G. underwent reconstructive surgery on her lip and nose.

In an interview with the FBI, SKUNKCAP admitted that he pushed T.L.G. Although SKUNKCAP claimed that T.L.G. hit him about seven times in the face, he did not have any injuries.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that SKUNKCAP will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, SKUNKCAP 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation.