RORY JOSHUA HYNES 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 Missoula, on December 21, 2006, before Chief U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, RORY JOSHUA HYNES, a 20-year-old resident of Belgrade, appeared for sentencing. HYNES was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 4 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 3 years

HYNES was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of a firearm in a school zone.

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

On February15, 2005, HYNES possessed a .22 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and shot out a car window at the Belgrade High School parking lot.

Upon questioning by law enforcement, HYNES admitted possessing the Smith & Wesson .22 caliber pistol and shooting out the victim's car window at the Belgrade High School parking lot.

Surveillance footage of the parking lot would have shown HYNES' vehicle circling the parking lot, parking next to the victim's vehicle, and shattering the window.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that HYNES will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, HYNES 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 Paulette L. Stewart prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was conducted by the Belgrade Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This conviction is yet another important outcome from Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national priority of the United States Department of Justice. PSN is designed as a partnership between federal and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun-related crime through the vigorous enforcement of the criminal provisions of the federal firearms laws. In Montana, the effort under PSN is called "Catch and No Release."

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