Augusta Man Pleads Guilty to Robbery Charges

Bangor, Maine:  An Augusta man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Bangor to four counts of interfering with commerce by robbery, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.

According to court records, on February 25, 2019, and on July 17, 20 and 23, 2019, Barry Grant, Jr., 38, robbed four different Augusta businesses at knife point. On each occasion he fled the scene with cash from the register. Grant was arrested by Augusta Police while fleeing the July 23 robbery.

Grant faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release for each count. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The Augusta Police Department and the FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN 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. For more information about PSN please visit www.justice.gov/psn.

Aggravated sex abuse, arson sends Poplar man to prison

GREAT FALLS--A Poplar man who admitted sexually abusing a teenage girl and of burning down a house on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation was sentenced this week to 10 years and one month in prison, six years of supervised release and ordered to pay $60,000 restitution, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Clifford William John Youpee, 32, pleaded guilty in April to aggravated sexual abuse and to arson of a dwelling in two separate cases.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided at the Oct. 23 hearing.

In court records filed in the case, the prosecution said that in September 2016, a teenage girl reported that Youpee had raped her the night before. The victim had fallen asleep in a house and awoke to Youpee putting his hand up her shirt. The victim told Youpee to stop but he held her down and raped her.

The arson occurred on Oct. 20, 2017 after Youpee and another person were upset that they were removed from staying in a residence used by people as place to live and sleep. To seek retribution for being removed, Youpee and the other person both decided to burn the house to the ground. Witnesses confirmed that Youpee and the individual were the only persons in the residence immediately prior to it burning. The fire marshal responded and concluded the fire was set intentionally because there were two separate origins in the residence. The Fort Peck Housing Authority was owed $60,000 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon prosecuted the cases, which were investigated by the FBI and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.

Fort Wayne Man Sentenced To 78 Months In Prison For Receiving Materials Depicting The Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor

FORT WAYNE – Shea Smith, age 48, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady upon his plea of guilty of receipt of material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

Smith was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit the items involved in the commission of the offense.

According to documents in this case, from approximately July 2014 through July 2017, Smith received materials depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.  In his plea agreement, Smith  agreed to forfeit the following items: desktop computers, laptop computers, a camera and a hard drive.

The case was investigated by FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) Task Force.  The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.