The armed robbery at Magic Diamond Casino in Billings Heights, Montana, brought investigators to a third suspect after the two perpetrators revealed to the police who they had obtained the guns from.
Third Person Facing Sentence
Darwin Dalton Sutherland admitted in federal court that he had supplied Taliah Jeneane Ramirez, 22, of Billings and Makyla Shayd Fetter, 28, of Harlem with the guns they had used in the armed robbery at Magic Diamond Casino earlier in the year.
Sutherland pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and is facing up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release for his role in the case, according to the prosecution.
Both Ramirez and Fetter pleaded guilty to charges of robbery affecting commerce, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime violence and possession of a firearm in a school zone in August: their sentences could be up to 20 years in jail, a $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release on the robbery charge.
On the charge of possessing a firearm in a crime of violence, the due could face a mandatory minimum of 7 to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and 5 years of supervised release.
Both defendants also face a maximum of 5 years in prison, not to be run concurrent to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release on the charge of possession of a firearm in a school zone. Their sentencing date will be set before US District Judge Susan P. Watters
The Armed Robbery
According to the court documents, on March 20 the defendants entered Magic Diamond Casino and Fetter took five bottles of liquor from a shelf but when asked to show her ID, she pulled a gun and pointed it at the clerk instead of identifying herself.
Then she pointed the pistol at the other clerk who in the meantime moved to block the doors and the second employee had to move away. Before leaving, Ramirez took out another pistol and fired a shot in the air to prevent people from following them as they got into a Buick and fled away.
The police officers responding to the robbery abandoned the pursuit just after a few blocks as the defendants were driving fast and there were significant risks to civilians but the car first went through a fence of Ponderosa Elementary School and later crashed on its own.
Officers found Fetter hidden nearby while Ramirez fled the scene and was apprehended later. One of the guns was found by the officers in the middle of the playground while the other was found the next day by a student on the school grounds. Both guns were loaded.