James Keith Labuff Sentenced in U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on July 15, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JAMES KEITH LABUFF, a 34-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. LABUFF was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 64 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: Three years

LABUFF was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to robbery/aiding and abetting robbery.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Carroll, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On October 25, 2008, the Subway restaurant in Browning, which is within the exterior boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, was robbed by an individual wearing a hooded sweatshirt and holding a knife. LABUFF and another individual were seen in the vicinity of the Subway shortly before the robbery. One of the workers saw LABUFF walk by the drive-thru window and look in at the cash register. The worker later saw LABUFF out back of the Subway acting as a kind of look-out. The other individual came in shortly before the robbery and ordered a sandwich but left without the sandwich.

This individual, later identified by one of the Subway workers as the individual who ordered the sandwich, entered the rear door of the Subway holding a knife. One of the workers, after seeing the individual with the knife, ran and entered the restroom and locked the door. The individual then demanded that the other worker give him the money in the cash register. That worker told the individual to get the money himself and then ran from the restaurant.

LABUFF and the other individual were soon arrested near the restaurant. The individual had 34-one dollar bills, two five-dollar bills, two 10-dollar bills, seven 20-dollar bills, 17 quarters, and 5 pennies on him. LABUFF had 12 one-dollar bills and six five-dollar bills on him. Arresting officers took photographs of LABUFF and the other individual and showed them to the workers at the restaurant. The workers identified them as the individuals who robbed the restaurant. LABUFF later admitted that he was involved in the robbery.

After the robbery, LABUFF's cousin stated that she overheard LABUFF and the other individual talking about the robbery, namely that they robbed the Subway.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LABUFF will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LABUFF 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.