Journey Marie No Runner Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 14, 2010 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on June 10, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JOURNEY MARIE NO RUNNER, a 26-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. NO RUNNER was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 63 months
- Special Assessment: $300
- Restitution: $447,047.94
- Supervised Release: three years
NO RUNNER was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
On June 3, 2007, at approximately 10:00 p.m., NO RUNNER was alone and driving a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe traveling west on Hwy 2 between Browning and East Glacier. NO RUNNER rear-ended a flatbed trailer being towed by a truck. The driver of the truck indicated that NO RUNNER “tapped” or bumped the trailer he was towing, backed off, and then began passing the truck and trailer in a no passing zone. The driver of the truck and several other witnesses stated that NO RUNNER, while passing the truck, was in the wrong lane and hit another vehicle head on. There were six people in the other vehicle. Two of the occupants received injuries that constituted serious bodily injury, with one of the individual’s injuries leading to her being placed on life support. She was later taken off life support and pronounced dead on June 5, 2008.
Witnesses to the incident would have testified that NO RUNNER drove into the oncoming traffic lane and hit the other vehicle head-on. Some of the witnesses also stated that NO RUNNER did not attempt to break, slow down, or miss the other vehicle.
Testimony would have shown that NO RUNNER had been drinking that day. Her BAC level was approximately 0.09 based on the test done at the Blackfeet Community Indian Health Service hospital in Browning. NO RUNNER also received extensive injures in the crash, including severe head injuries, a fractured jaw, nose, foot, and pelvis. As a result of her head injuries, NO RUNNER did not recall any details of the crash. A forensic psychologist performed an evaluation on NO RUNNER and confirmed that NO RUNNER’s memory of the above events was “essentially nonexistent,” and that NO RUNNER’s lack of memory is genuine.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that NO RUNNER will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, NO RUNNER does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.