Brian Hayden Allen Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 10, 2009 |
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on August 10, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, BRIAN HAYDEN ALLEN, a 36-year-old resident of Havre, appeared for sentencing. ALLEN was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 51 months, concurrent with another sentence
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
ALLEN was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On June 11, 2001, ALLEN was convicted of felony theft in Colorado, which thereby prohibited him from possessing any firearms.
At trial, an individual would have testified that on December 11, 2007, she observed a handgun on ALLEN'S bed at his residence in Havre. ALLEN normally carried the Hi-Point .380 caliber pistol in his waistband in the back of his pants. This individual had a Taurus 9mm pistol that ALLEN was interested in purchasing. ALLEN gave his Hi-Point .380 caliber pistol for collateral to the individual while he decided whether or not to purchase the Taurus 9mm pistol.
On February 4, 2008, the individual turned the Hi-Point .380 caliber pistol over to the Havre Police Department. Law enforcement recovered the Taurus 9mm pistol from ALLEN'S residence on February 23, 2008.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ALLEN will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ALLEN does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette L. Stewart prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Tri-Agency Safe Trails Task Force in Havre and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.