United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pierre, South Dakota woman convicted of making false statements to a federal agency was sentenced on April 28, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Kelsey Howe, age 20, was sentenced to two months in custody, one year of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Howe was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 14, 2013. She pled guilty on February 3, 2014.

The conviction stems from an incident on October 31, 2013, when law enforcement received information that Jason Garreau, an individual they were searching for following a shooting with law enforcement, had called family from a telephone number that was associated with Howe’s trailer home in Pierre. The officer spoke with Howe on the telephone and told her there had been an officer involved in a shooting in Fort Thompson and that he needed to locate Garreau to speak with him. The officer asked Howe if she knew Garreau’s location. Howe told the officer that she did not. The officer then asked Howe if she was at her residence, and she said she was at a relative’s home in southeast Pierre.

A few minutes after the call, officers observed Howe exit her residence. She was stopped by law enforcement a few blocks away, and was again asked if anyone was inside her residence. She said no one was inside the home, and said she had not seen Garreau in the past two weeks. Howe was then confronted by an officer with the drug task force about lying to the officers. She finally stated that she knew Garreau, and he was, in fact, inside her residence at the time. Howe told agents that Garreau had arrived at her residence around 12:30 a.m. and that he had a long black gun with him in the house. A lengthy standoff with Garreau ensued and he was eventually taken into custody.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.

Howe was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.