Kole Michael Parsons Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 29, 2013 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on July 26, 2013 before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, KOLE MICHAEL PARSONS, a 22-year-old resident of Browning and an enrolled member of the Blackfeet tribe, was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 45 days
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: three years with first six months in residential re-entrance center
PARSONS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to burglary.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan G. Weldon, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 30, 2012, Blackfeet tribal security notified the FBI that the Blackfeet tribal offices were burglarized over the weekend of October 26, 2012, through October 28, 2012. Multiple items were reported missing, including a 9 mm pistol, a MacBook Pro laptop, a GPS unit, and a camera.
A tribal security officer surveyed the offices and observed signs of forced entry at several locations. The officer then went to review video surveillance for the previous weekend. During the review, the officer observed PARSONS enter the tribal offices, pass through the halls, and enter and exit various offices. The officer identified the intruder as PARSONS without hesitation, stating that he “knew it was him right off the bat.”
The officer knew PARSONS, as he had seen him visit a relative of PARSONS at the office every other day for the last month and had seen PARSONS “around” for approximately four years.
Specifically, the video shows PARSONS holding a laptop and “several duffel bags,” and he is seen entering and exiting various offices, either using keys or prying open the doors. PARSONS obtained the keys by stealing them from his relative’s purse.
When PARSONS spoke with his relative, he told her that he indeed broke into the Blackfeet tribal offices and stole a pistol from the tribal security office. PARSONS then stated that he sold the pistol to a drug dealer while at the grocery store. The gun has not been recovered.
When interviewed by law enforcement, PARSONS admitted that he went to the tribal security office and took a 9 mm pistol, two clips, and two boxes of bullets. He maintains that he only took a weapon and ammunition, nothing else.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that PARSONS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, PARSONS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.