GREAT FALLS-A California woman who was stopped in Chouteau County while driving a stolen vehicle was sentenced today to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for conviction on a firearms crime, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Nikki Graham, 31, of Ventura, Calif., pleaded guilty in November to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.
Prosecutors said Graham was stopped on Dec. 5, 2017 by a Chouteau County sheriff’s deputy while driving a stolen Chevy Tahoe. Three other persons, including two juvenile males, also were in the vehicle. Graham had a.40-caliber handgun. She handed the firearm to one of the juveniles, telling him to take it because as a juvenile, he would not get into as much trouble as she would. Graham, who has felony convictions in California for burglary, possession of a controlled substance and receiving stolen property, was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Cobell prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Rocky Boy’s Tribal Police and Choteau County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
