FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
RAYMOND HANSEN 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 Billings, on February 27, 2008, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, RAYMOND HANSEN, a 26-year-old resident of Sidney, appeared for sentencing. HANSEN was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 12 months and 1 day
- Special Assessment: $100
- Fine: $5,000
- Supervised Release: 3 years
HANSEN was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of a firearm by an unlawful user or addict of a controlled substance.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 26, 2006, a citizen called in to the Wibaux County Sheriff's Office that a male was sitting in a truck in the road and had been there all morning. The caller stated the male was tossing a gun back and forth and was acting strangely. Several deputies and Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) officers arrived at the scene to contact the driver, who was thought to be HANSEN, a person they knew to be a methamphetamine user and potentially dangerous.
A MHP officer arrived and observed a truck partially in the traffic lane near a hill. He saw a single male unconscious inside the truck. This male was identified as HANSEN. An ambulance arrived on scene in the event of an emergency as the officers feared HANSEN may have suffered a drug overdose. Officers approached the truck cautiously because they knew HANSEN was a methamphetamine user and had made threatening comments toward local law enforcement. As one MHP officer approached the driver's side, another MHP officer approached the passenger's side. The officers observed a rifle on the front seat near HANSEN. The officers removed HANSEN from the truck and brought him to the rear. HANSEN seemed disoriented as to time and place, was fidgeting and acting strangely. When HANSEN was searched, methamphetamine-related drug paraphernalia was recovered and he was handcuffed.
While being transported to jail for possession of drug paraphernalia, HANSEN stated that he had used methamphetamine since high school. HANSEN said "it would scare you" if he knew how much he used. HANSEN also stated that he had used cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. At the jail, his blood sample tested positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC.
When his truck was searched, four firearms and several items of drug paraphernalia were seized. The firearms recovered were: a Safari Arms Model Master Carry Competition .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol; a Ruger New Model Blackhawk .357 caliber revolver; a Ruger Model M77 .22-250 caliber rifle; and a FN Herstal Model Five Seven 5.7x28mm semi-automatic pistol.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that HANSEN will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, HANSEN does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed Zink prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Wibaux County Sheriff's Office, the Montana Highway Patrol, and the Eastern Montana Drug Task Force.
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."
