Durant Woman Pleads Guilty to Felony Theft

MUSKOGEE, OK—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that Dawn Marie Smith, age 29, of Durant, Oklahoma, pled guilty to felony theft of personal property in Indian Country, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1153 and 661.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Choctaw Nation Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendant was indicted in February 2013.

The indictment alleges that on August 10, 2012, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and within Indian Country, namely, on land held in trust by the United States for the Choctaw Nation, the defendant, an Indian, did take and carry away, with the intent to steal, another’s personal property valued in excess of $1,000.

The Honorable Kimberly E. West, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over today’s hearing and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

The statutory range of punishment is not more than five years’ imprisonment and/or up to a $250,000 fine.

Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States.