WAYNE ERIC JORGENSON SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on December 14, 2006, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, WAYNE ERIC JORGENSON, a 23-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. JORGENSON was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 22 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 3 years

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

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On September 29, 2004, an elderly man who lived in Browning, within the exterior boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, was hospitalized in Great Falls.

On September 29, 2004, an agent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs responded to a report that someone was breaking into the elderly man's residence. The officer found JORGENSON outside the residence. The officer arrested JORGENSON and upon searching him, found a prescription bottle for a controlled substance which had been prescribed to the elderly man who was in the hospital.

When interviewed, JORGENSON admitted that he knew the elderly man was in the hospital when he broke into his house.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that JORGENSON will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, JORGENSON does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph E. Thaggard prosecuted the case for the United States.

United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana
P.O. Box 1478
Billings, MT 59103

CONTACT

Kurt Alme
First Assistant U.S. Attorney
(406) 246-4669