Joral Trebor Syril Stewart Sentenced in U.S. District Court

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on August 20, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JORAL TREBOR SYRIL STEWART, a 21-year-old resident of Crow Agency, appeared for sentencing. STEWART was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 12 months
• Special Assessment: $100
• Supervised Release: 3 years

STEWART was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to accessory after the fact to the crime of robbery.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On August 30, 2006, at approximately 10:30 p.m., law enforcement was advised of a robbery in progress at the TeePee Service, a convenience store in Crow Agency. The clerk advised that the robber fled in a blue, two-door car and provided the direction in which the car drove.

The alleged robber was identified as STEWART'S cousin. The car, which belonged to a relative, was taken before the robbery without permission by STEWART and his cousin. When interviewed, STEWART stated that on the day of the robbery, he was drinking alcohol with his cousin at the car owner's house. He admitted that he and his cousin took the car after the owner passed out. STEWART admitted that he was the driver. While driving in Crow Agency, his cousin said that he wanted to rob a store once. He then said, "let's go rob that store," referring to the TeePee Service. STEWART responded that he did not want to, but he drove his cousin to the store. His cousin grabbed an old shirt from the back seat, ripped the shirt, and tied the cloth over his face. His cousin then grabbed a toy gun that was in the car. STEWART parked the car on the west side of the store. His cousin got out of the car and asked STEWART to wait.

STEWART watched his cousin go into the store wearing a mask and carrying the toy gun. He saw his cousin talk to the clerk and point the gun at the clerk. STEWART then saw the cashier wrestling with his cousin. He thought his cousin was caught, so he put the car in reverse and drove away. As he was driving, he heard someone yell "stop." In the rearview mirror, he saw his cousin running. STEWART then stopped and let his cousin get into the car before driving off.

Witnesses at the scene would have testified that STEWART was the individual driving the get-away car.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that STEWART will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, STEWART 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 Lori Harper Suek prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.