Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on April 16, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, LEANN AHENAKEW, a 31-year-old resident of Havre, appeared for sentencing. AHENAKEW was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 3 months and 6 days (time served)

• Special Assessment: $100

• Restitution: $1,140.03

• Supervised Release: 3 years

AHENAKEW was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to theft from an Indian tribal organization.

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

In May of 2007, AHENAKEW was hired as a clerk at Gramma's Market which is located on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. The store is owned by the Chippewa Cree Community Development Corporation and is an Indian tribal organization.

On June 3, 2007, the manager of the store became suspicious that AHENAKEW was stealing money from the store. The next day, the manager tallied the cash register receipts from the weekend's sales. The manager found that $823.06 was missing.

The manager then viewed video surveillance from the store for the hours AHENAKEW worked on June 3, 2007. The surveillance disclosed that AHENAKEW stole money from the cash register as well as T-shirts, smokeless tobacco, and cigarettes. All told, AHENAKEW stole $1,140.33 worth of cash and merchandise from the store.

The manager reported the theft to the authorities. On July 9, 2007, AHENAKEW was interviewed by law enforcement. AHENAKEW admitted that she had stolen currency, T-shirts, and smokeless tobacco from the store. She stated, however, that the total amount of property she stole from the store was approximately $500.

The manager was adamant that the total amount of money stolen by AHENAKEW was, in fact $1,140.33. The manager was able to tally the amount of property stolen by AHENAKEW with such precision because: (1) there was a discrepancy of $823.06 between receipts tallied and the money contained in the cash register for the period AHENAKEW worked on June 3, 2007; (2) the T-shirts and tobacco products stolen by AHENAKEW were accounted for as part of a daily inventory process; and (3) the video surveillance showed AHENAKEW stealing cash, smokeless tobacco, cigarettes, and T-Shirts in the amounts calculated by the manager as part of the daily inventory.

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

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Havre.