Week of Sept. 29, 2009

Man Indicted for Bank Fraud and Larceny (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Sept. 24, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, David Michael Rosebud Mathison, a 33-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on charges of bank fraud and larceny.  He is currently detained.  If convicted of these charges, Mathison faces possible penalties of 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine and five years supervised release.

Justice Department Announces First Two Jurisdictions to Implement Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (OPA)
The Department of Justice announced on Sept. 23 that Ohio and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are the first two jurisdictions to substantially implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

Fort Hall Man Sentenced for Sexual Contact With a Minor (U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho)
Buford Nipwater, 49, of Fort Hall, was sentenced on Sept. 23 by U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush to 12 months and one day in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Nipwater will also be required to register as a sex offender.  In May 2009, Nipwater pled guilty to the charge of sexual contact with a minor.  Nipwater admitted to fondling the genitals of a 10-year-old relative in 2004. The victim reported the crime to a counselor several years later which led to an investigation by Fort Hall Police Department.

Dale Andrew Roundstone Found Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that on Sept. 23, 2009, in Billings, after a three-day federal district court trial before U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, Dale Andrew Roundstone, a 41-year-old resident of Lame Deer, was found guilty of kidnapping and assault resulting in serious bodily injury within the exterior boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.  Sentencing is set for Jan. 28, 2010.  He is currently detained.  Roundstone faces possible penalties of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years supervised release.          

Louie Donald Iron Bear Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Sept. 23, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Louie Donald Iron Bear, a 33-year-old resident of Poplar, was sentenced to 20 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Iron Bear was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to failure to register as a sexual offender.  In February of 2009, Iron Bear, a convicted sexual offender, was not currently properly registered and living in Poplar.  Court records reflect that in 2000, Iron Bear was convicted of felony sexual abuse of a minor and, based on his conviction, was required to register as a sexual offender.       

Amanda Rose Olson Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Sept. 23, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Amanda Rose Olson, a 23-year-old resident of Poplar, was sentenced to a term of 11 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Olson was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a child under the age of 16.  On Jan. 5, 2009, a Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigator informed the FBI that four-year-old “H” was the victim of child abuse by her mother, Olson.  Olson admitted that she was mad at someone else in the home and grabbed a hanger to hit that person.  Olson claimed that “H” jumped around in front of her, further making Olson mad, so she hit her with the hanger.  Medical personnel opined that “H” suffered substantial bodily injury from Olson’s assault.

Idaho Man Sentenced to 38 Months for Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho)
Patrick Mosho, 22, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced on Sept. 22 by visiting U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush to 38 months in federal prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Mosho pled guilty to the charge in June.  Mosho was angry with an adult female acquaintance, so he entered a home on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation on Oct. 4, 2008, and punched her in the eye with his fist, causing a permanent injury to the eye.  The victim continues to suffer from double-vision, blurriness, and other vision problems.

Felipe Arriaga Found Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that on Sept. 22, 2009, in Great Falls, after a federal district court trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, Felipe Arriaga aka Juan, 29, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.  Sentencing is to be set.  He is currently detained.  Arriaga faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison, a $4,000,000 fine and five years supervised release. 

Malcolm A. Good Bird Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on Sept. 22, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Malcolm A. Good Bird, a 39-year-old resident of Poplar, pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Sentencing is set for Dec. 17, 2009.  He is currently detained.  Good Bird faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release.

Tamarac Man Convicted at Trial for Selling Fraudulent Indian Documents to Illegal Aliens (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida)

On Sept. 22, 2009, a jury found Audie Watson, 76, of Tamarac, Fla., guilty for fraud, immigration, and money laundering crimes.  The defendant is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 4, 2009, before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch.  The evidence at trial established that Watson, the owner and president of Universal Service Dedicated to God, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation, conspired with his employees to sell documents purporting to confer membership in a Native American tribe called the Pembina Nation Little Shell.  Watson sold these memberships to illegal aliens at a cost of $1,500 per individual and $2,000 per couple.  As shown at trial, the defendant sold the supposed memberships in order for his customers to make claims of Native American lineage to immigration authorities and thereby avoid removal from the United States.

Arizona Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Robbery (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
Stanton Eric Long, 22, of Kayenta, Ariz., was sentenced on Sept. 21 by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone to 41 months in federal prison followed by a nine month placement in an inpatient alcohol rehabilitation program while on three years of supervised release.  Long pleaded guilty on Jan. 20, 2009 to robbing an elderly person while she was in her home in Kayenta on the Navajo Nation.