A man and a woman have confessed to stealing a ski boat and trailer from property on St. Mary Lake, located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced the guilty pleas today.
Tiffany Rae Morris, 37, from Shelby, and Levi Jacques Carl Johnson, 44, from Kevin, each pleaded guilty in separate hearings to theft within Indian Country. They could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearings. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25 after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Both defendants were released pending further proceedings.
According to court documents, Morris and Johnson stole the ski boat and trailer on June 9, 2024, from John Doe's property on St. Mary Lake. After Doe reported the theft to law enforcement and posted about it on Facebook, an investigation identified Morris and Johnson as suspects through video surveillance footage.
The day following the theft, a landowner in Cut Bank reported finding an abandoned boat on his property that he believed was stolen. John Doe confirmed it was his boat despite its identifying decals being removed.
In interviews with law enforcement officials, both Morris and Johnson admitted to stealing the boat but claimed they abandoned it out of fear of apprehension after seeing reports about the theft on Facebook. Johnson stated that he removed the decals while power-washing the boat.
The stolen item was identified as a 2007 Ski-doo Challenger 180 valued at more than $1,000.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with investigations conducted by Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI.
