Wilma Jamie Rae Hoyt Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on August 27, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, WILMA JAMIE RAE HOYT, a 29-year-old resident of Browning, was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 60 months

Special Assessment: $100

Supervised Release: 4 years

HOYT was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

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 February 23, 2012, "X.X." and HOYT were arrested in Browning. X.X. was arrested because he had a state warrant out for his arrest. HOYT was arrested for a federal warrant because she violated conditions of her supervised release. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement collected $600 in U.S. currency from X.X. The money was claimed to be from X.X.'s "tax return."

When interviewed, HOYT stated that she first became romantically involved with X.X. in approximately 2009 or 2010. Both X.X. and HOYT were initially "clean," but X.X. lost his job, and they were in need of money to maintain their household and take care of their children. HOYT admitted that is when they began selling methamphetamine for income.

In approximately February or March of 2011, HOYT admitted that individuals approached her and X.X., requesting that they sell methamphetamine. X.X. and HOYT complied with such a request, and this relationship lasted until January of 2012. X.X. and HOYT would receive three grams of methamphetamine at a time. HOYT estimated that she received methamphetamine, to sell, every week, and the longest without receiving drugs was three weeks.

HOYT explained that, after selling for awhile, she met another methamphetamine dealer, who provided her and X.X. with a higher-quality methamphetamine. This new dealer initially provided them with a "weighed out gram" of methamphetamine, which they would break down and sell. However, as the relationship grew, so did the amounts that the new distributor provided. For example, the new distributor eventually provided HOYT and X.X. with a "weighed out eight ball." In total, HOYT stated that the new distributor provided them a "weighed out gram" on six occasions and a "weighed out eight ball" on three occasions.

Law enforcement interviewed X.X. the day after interviewing HOYT. X.X. also admitted that he began selling methamphetamine, and stated that such sales began from late December 2010, until approximately June 2011. X.X. provided specifics as to amounts sold and prices paid to the distributors.

The FBI interviewed various "customers" of HOYT and X.X.. These individuals confirmed that HOYT and X.X. sold methamphetamine, and the amounts of the conspiracy involved more than 50 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

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