A man and a woman have admitted to stealing a ski boat and trailer from property on St. Mary Lake, located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced that Tiffany Rae Morris, 37, of Shelby, and Levi Jacques Carl Johnson, 44, of Kevin, pleaded guilty in separate hearings to theft within Indian Country.
The defendants could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearings and will determine their sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25. Both defendants were released pending further proceedings.
According to court documents, the government alleged that on June 9, 2024, Morris and Johnson stole a ski boat and trailer from John Doe's property on St. Mary Lake within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Doe reported the theft to law enforcement and shared information about it on Facebook.
An investigation identified Morris and Johnson as potential suspects based on video surveillance footage. The following day, a landowner in Cut Bank reported an abandoned boat on his property that he believed was stolen. John Doe confirmed it was his boat at the scene; however, its identifying decals had been removed.
During interviews with law enforcement officials, both Morris and Johnson confessed to stealing the boat. They stated they intended to return it after seeing posts about the theft on Facebook but feared being caught and decided to abandon it instead. Johnson claimed that power-washing caused the decals to come off.
The stolen vessel was identified as a 2007 Ski-doo Challenger 180 valued at more than $1,000.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with assistance from Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI who conducted investigations into this matter.