FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 18, 2008
GENE EDWARD LUCAS 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 Great Falls, on July 18, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, GENE EDWARD LUCAS, a resident of Great Falls, appeared for sentencing. LUCAS was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 33 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
LUCAS was sentenced after having been found guilty during a 1-day trial of being a armed career criminal/felon-in-possession of a firearm.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LUCAS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LUCAS 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 Kory Larsen prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Great Falls Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 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."
