Vaughn woman sentenced for carjacking

HELENA—A Vaughn woman who admitted to pulling a gun on a driver, who had given her a ride, and ordering the victim and two others out of the vehicle, was sentenced to 14 years prison on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell sentenced Sidney Rae Aimsback, 30, to seven years in prison for conviction on carjacking and to seven more years for brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Aimsback pleaded guilty to the two crimes in May.

The investigation determined that on Nov. 28, 2017 in Helena, Aimsback approached three people, borrowed a cell phone and asked for a ride to a restaurant near Interstate 15. The victim drove her Mitsubishi Outlander, while Aimsback sat in the front passenger seat and the victim’s two friends sat in the back seat. Aimsback persuaded the victim to drive to a nearby housing development, saying her sister lived there.

While stopped at an intersection near the housing development, Aimsback pulled out a gun from near her waistband, pointed it at the victim and told her and the two other passengers to get out of the vehicle. The victim and passengers complied. The three ran up to a carpenter at a building site.

Law enforcement officers arrested Aimsback near Three Forks. The victim consented to a search of the vehicle, and officers found a 9 mm pistol and two magazines of ammunition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bartleson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Lewis and Clark and Gallatin County sheriff’s offices, the Helena Police Department and the Montana Highway Patrol.

XXX