Toppenish Man Sentenced to 46 Months’ Imprisonment
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 06, 2012 |
SPOKANE—Today, Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Even Charles McGee, Jr., age 25, who resides within the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation, was sentenced after having been found guilty of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Senior United States District Court Judge Van Sickle sentenced McGee to a 46-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 36-month term of court supervision upon release from federal prison.
During the prosecution of this case it was revealed that, on May 22, 2012, a female entered the Yakama Nation Legends Casino and advised that she had been assaulted by McGee. The female advised that McGee was armed and sleeping in a vehicle located in the casino parking lot. Several law enforcement officers from the Yakama Nation responded to the scene and found McGee sleeping in a vehicle. After being removed from the vehicle, McGee advised the tribal officers that he had recently snorted crushed Vicodin. The officers searched the vehicle and discovered a .22 caliber firearm. McGee was (and remains) prohibited from possessing firearms because of his previous criminal convictions, which include a long history of criminal offenses, including felonies and numerous charges in tribal court for violence offenses.
Michael C. Ormsby stated, “The successful investigation and prosecution of this case is the direct result of effective law enforcement cooperation among tribal and federal officers here in the Eastern District of Washington. This case is yet one more example of tribal and federal law enforcement officers’ commitment to investigate crimes and to protect those individuals who reside within the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation.”
This case was investigated by the Yakama Tribal Police Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Thomas J. Hanlon, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.