Local Residents sentenced in Federal Court

by Oct 13, 2011Front Page, NEWS ka-no-he-da0 comments

                Four residents of Cherokee were sentenced in federal court on Tuesday, Oct. 11 on various charges.  All were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger. 

                Robert Benjamin Smith, 25, an EBCI tribal member, was sentenced to 235 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  He pled guilty to second degree murder on Jan. 19.  He was also ordered to pay $290,000 in restitution. 

                Emery Lee Littlejohn, 25, an EBCI tribal member, was sentenced to 55 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.  He pled guilty to one count of robbery on Jan. 19. 

                Mark Wayne Ballard, 22, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was sentenced to 118 months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  He pled guilty to aggravated sexual abuse on Jan. 19.  He was also ordered to comply with sex offender conditions and register as a sex offender.

                Fredrick Bird, 45, an EBCI tribal member, was sentenced to 90 months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  He pled guilty to one count of abusive sexual conduct on Dec. 6, 2010. 

– U.S. Attorney’s Office