Leonard David Villa, Jr. Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 20, 2011 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on December 19, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, LEONARD DAVID VILLA, JR., a 21-year-old resident of Browning, appeared for sentencing. VILLA was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 30 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: three years
VILLA was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On March 19, 2011, VILLA assaulted “XX”, the victim, in the Town Pump gas station parking lot in Browning. The victim suffered a nasal bone fracture and facial injuries. His injuries were categorized as serious bodily injury by a Blackfeet Community Hospital physician. When interviewed, VILLA admitted to hitting the victim.
On the morning of the assault, the victim went to the Town Pump gas station in Browning, accompanied by his wife and sister. As he was exiting the store holding the door for the person behind him, he was struck in the face by someone who appeared from behind the ice machine outside the door. He was knocked to the ground and was bleeding when he partially recovered his senses. The victim witnessed VILLA go to the truck he arrived in and throw a bar in the back, which made a metallic clanging noise. VILLA then jumped in the passenger side and the truck sped away.
The victim’s wife witnessed the assault and stated that VILLA had an object drop out from his left sleeve and into his hand. VILLA hit the victim with this object and knocked him to the ground. VILLA swung two to three more times at the victim while he was down. VILLA then kicked and stomped him several times in the back when the victim curled up and tried to move away from him. The victim’s wife ran toward them and pushed VILLA away. The victim’s wife was holding the victim when she was hit by VILLA with the object. VILLA then ran off. The victim’s wife remembers VILLA dropping a metallic-sounding object in the back of a white pickup truck before jumping into the truck which sped away.
The victim’s sister also saw the victim get hit by VILLA with an overhand blow using an object. She indicated the victim went down and was kicked roughly three times by VILLA. She saw the victim’s wife try to push VILLA off her husband, which was followed by a blow to the victim’s wife by VILLA. The victim’s sister heard VILLA say to the victim during the incident, “You f*cking narc!” The victim’s sister indicated she saw VILLA throw the weapon she saw earlier into the truck and leave.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that VILLA will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, VILLA does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.