GREAT FALLS, MONTANA – A Wolf Point woman who admitted entering a hotel and beating up the desk clerk during a robbery was sentenced on Thursday to 30 months in prison and to two years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said today.
Jalissa Haley Fern Spotted Bird, 32, pleaded guilty on Oct. 15, 2020 to robbery.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Spotted Bird was detained.
The prosecution said in court documents that on September 15, 2019, at about 5:45 a.m., Spotted Bird and another individual entered the Sherman Inn, in Wolf Point, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Spotted Bird and the other individual walked behind the counter of the front desk and assaulted the desk clerk by hitting and kicking her, demanding money.
The assault and robbery by Spotted Bird and the other individual were captured on security camera footage. The other individual took the cash drawer and escaped the hotel, while Spotted Bird assaulted the hotel clerk. A hotel patron heard the commotion and stopped the assault.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ethan Plaut and Cassady Adams prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Fort Peck Law Enforcement Services.