FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
JAMES ARDEN WICK 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, JAMES ARDEN WICK, a 42-year-old resident of Lame Deer, appeared for sentencing. WICK was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 15 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
WICK was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
September 13, 2006, a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officer conducted a traffic stop of WICK in Lame Deer. The officer stopped WICK because he saw the car driven by WICK traveling at a high rate of speed near a housing area, roll through a stop sign, and make an unusually wide turn almost running over the road side curb. The officer was assisted at the scene by another BIA officer.
When asked by the officer to get out of the car, WICK swore at the officers, unbuckled his seatbelt, reached for whatever was below him on the floor board, and stepped out of the car. One of the officers observed a knife in WICK'S waistband and told WICK that they would hold the knife. WICK tried to pull his waist area away from the officer and kept looking at his right side pocket. WICK was put in handcuffs. The officers told him that he was not under arrest, but that he would be detained while they conducted their investigation. WICK was given the opportunity to perform field sobriety tests but he refused. WICK again swore at the officers and refused to follow instructions, so the officer arrested him for the tribal offenses of disorderly conduct and reckless driving.
When the officer attempted to do a pat down search of WICK subsequent to the arrest, WICK pulled his waist area away. When the officer tried to pat down WICK'S right side, he again pulled away and tried to ram the officer with his head. The officers were forced to put WICK on the ground so that they could conduct the pat down search. In WICK'S left front pocket, inside a beaded bag, the officers found $350 in cash wrapped around nineteen clear plastic bindles containing a white crystal substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine.
One of the officers looked into the car and saw two pistols on the floor board of the car.
Subsequent to the arrest, WICK was interviewed by law enforcement. WICK admitted that he was a long time user of methamphetamine.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that WICK will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, WICK 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 Lori Harper Suek prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
