Casey Wallace Leider, Felon in Possession of Firearm, Montana 2021

State: Montana
Category: Violent Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/hardin-felon-sentenced-prison-illegal-possession-gun" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

BILLINGS — A Hardin man with felony convictions was sentenced to 21 months in prison after law enforcement found a firearm in a stolen truck he was driving during a pursuit that began near Billings and ended on the Crow Indian Reservation.

C Casey Wallace Leider, 32, pleaded guilty in February to felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the case.

The federal sentence is in addition to a 16-month sentence the Crow Tribal Court imposed on Leider for conviction for conduct from the same incident.

In court documents, the government alleged that in July 2021, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office deputies pursued a stolen Ford F-350 truck driven by Leider from the Lockwood area and onto the Crow Indian Reservation.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs authorized the deputies to continue the chase onto the reservation. The pursuit involved police vehicles and a helicopter. The pursuit eventually ended near Pryor when the truck left the roadway and broke down in a field.

Law enforcement arrested Leider, who told a deputy that he was high. Inside the truck was a pistol in plain sight. Leider had two felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek prosecuted the case, while the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aiming to reduce violent crime and gun violence by bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Related Federal Cases