Otis Taylor Yellow Mule Sentenced in U.S. District Court

June 28, 2010 - The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on June 25, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, OTIS TAYLOR YELLOW MULE, a 23-year-old resident of Wyola, appeared for sentencing. YELLOW MULE was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 78 months
Special Assessment: $100
Supervised Release: three years
YELLOW MULE was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to robbery.

During the afternoon of December 12, 2009, YELLOW MULE and P.B., knocked on the door of the victim's house in Wyola, which is within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation, wanting to come inside. The victim refused to let them into her house, so YELLOW MULE sprayed the victim with pepper spray while P.B. pushed her way into the victim's house. The victim fled out the back door of her house and ran to the home of a neighbor.

YELLOW MULE and P.B. stole the victim's purse and a box containing prescription medications. They then drove away from the victim's house, past the neighbor's house, and yelled obscenities as they drove by.

YELLOW MULE and P.B. were arrested that same day by Bureau of Indian Affairs police. The police recovered a pepper spray canister. Items belonging to the victim were subsequently recovered from the home of P.B.'s mother, where YELLOW MULE and P.B. stopped immediately after the robbery. Finally, ATM transaction records and witnesses confirmed that YELLOW MULE attempted to use the victim's debit card to withdraw cash from her bank account at a gas station in Lodge Grass shortly after the robbery. The debit card was found in the car that YELLOW MULE and P.B. were driving prior to their arrest.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that YELLOW MULE will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, YELLOW MULE 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 Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.