Billings man sentenced for lying to federal grand jury

BILLINGS  — A Billings man who admitted to lying about a firearm in a shooting during testimony before a federal grand jury was sentenced today to four years of probation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Caleb Jason Olson, 21, pleaded guilty in January to an indictment charging him with false declaration before a grand jury.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Olson was the driver in an attempted drug robbery that involved a shooting in the fall of 2019 and provided a shotgun to one of his passengers. Olson then lied in December 2021 to a federal grand jury investigating the incident when asked about the firearm. Olson had been placed under oath and advised that he could face criminal liability should he make a false statement during his testimony. Olson falsely testified that he didn’t know there were any firearms in his vehicle, when he knew that he had, in fact, brought a firearm in his car that night.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno B. Baucus, Bryan T. Dake and Benjamin D. Hargrove prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.

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