FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
MERVIN LITTLE WHIRLWIND PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on April 1, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, MERVIN LITTLE WHIRLWIND, a 27-year-old resident of Poplar, pled guilty to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm. Sentencing is set for July 17, 2008. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On July 1, 2004, LITTLE WHIRLWIND pled guilty and was sentenced for felony assault on a peace officer. Following two years in custody, LITTLE WHIRLWIND was released and placed on probation for three years with the specific condition that he not own, possess or control firearms.
On August 21, 2007, around 7:00 p.m., police officers in Poplar were notified that four people inside a green Ford Explorer were trying to start a fight outside of a local home. The police were also told that there was a rifle in the vehicle. Shortly after 7:00 p.m., a 911 call was received stating that someone had fired a rifle out of a window of a moving green Ford Explorer and shot out a window at a local bar and eating establishment. Officers were dispatched and responded to the Explorer's location, where they conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle.
There were three people in the Explorer, including LITTLE WHIRLWIND. All three were removed from the vehicle and searched. Police found a buck knife and .30-.30 ammunition in LITTLE WHIRLWIND's pocket. In the vehicle, police found more .30-.30 shells, a rifle scabbard, and a .30-.30 Winchester rifle. The other occupants of the vehicle both informed officers that LITTLE WHIRLWIND brought the rifle and fired it earlier.
The 911 caller arrived at the scene of the traffic stop, identified himself, and told officers that LITTLE WHIRLWIND pointed a rifle at him from the vehicle's window as it drove by earlier that day. Later that evening, LITTLE WHIRLWIND'S stepfather contacted police and reported that a.30-.30 rifle was missing from his home. The stepfather told authorities that no one in the vehicle would have known the location of the rifle other than LITTLE WHIRLWIND.
LITTLE WHIRLWIND faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Hosley prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
