The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Feb. 11, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JORDAN GERALD LEE JACKSON, a 25-year-old resident of Heart Butte and an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, appeared for sentencing. JACKSON was sentenced to a term of:
Prison: 30 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: 2 years
JACKSON was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On June 18, 2011, victim "C.A." was picked up by his cousin, JACKSON, in Great Falls. JACKSON was driving a blue van. Two other individuals were also in the van and everyone was drinking alcohol. When asked about alcohol consumption, JACKSON said, "I'm not sure how much I drank, but it was a lot."
By the time they arrived in Heart Butte, it was dark. C.A. then departed from Heart Butte with JACKSON. JACKSON indicated he was "really drunk," swerved off the road but laughed it off and kept going. The vehicle went off the road again, flipped over and ultimately landed upside down with the victim still strapped in the passenger seat.
A passerby cut the victim out of the passenger side as the victim was bleeding and yelling that he couldn't feel his arm. The victim was transported via ambulance to the Blackfeet Emergency Room. The nurse noted the following about C.A.'s right arm: "very badly evulsion to point of almost amputation." He was transferred via helicopter to Great Falls then to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. He underwent three surgical procedures, including a skin graft.
Approximately an hour after the rollover, JACKSON was taken to the emergency room in Browning where his BAC was found to be.20.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that JACKSON will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, JACKSON does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Montana Highway Patrol, and the Blackfeet Law Enforcement.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
