Here's the latest in the federal case against more than two dozen people from 12 states charged in the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County.
Eight people have pleaded guilty in the Oregon case:
* Ryan Waylen Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Montana, pleaded guilty July 19 to a conspiracy charge. Prosecutors said Payne coordinated armed guards and provided tactical training of guards during the takeover. They recommended that a sentence of three years and five months run concurrently with a sentence he'll face in Nevada. A second count of possession of firearms or dangerous weapons in a federal facility will be dismissed at sentencing, tentatively set for Nov. 18.
Payne is expected to be transferred at some point to Nevada to enter guilty pleas in the 2014 armed standoff at the Bundy ranch near Bunkerville. He will be sentenced there before returning to Oregon. Prosecutors in Nevada are recommending a 12-year term.
* Blaine Cooper, 36, of Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona, pleaded guilty July 7 to a conspiracy charge. He gave up his right to appeal the Oregon sentence – essentially time served -- and agreed to pay restitution. He worked as a recruiter during the occupation, encouraging people to bring their guns to the refuge.
He's also charged with 11 offenses in the 2014 standoff in Nevada. A tentative agreement, not yet formally accepted, would have Cooper pleading guilty to two charges in Nevada and facing a six-year sentence. His sentencing in Oregon is set for Nov. 18.
* Brian Cavalier, 45, of Bunkerville, Nevada, pleaded guilty June 29 to a conspiracy charge and a charge of possessing firearms or dangerous weapons in a federal facility. Prosecutors said the government will recommend a sentence ranging from one year and three months to one year and nine months. Sentencing is set for Sept. 30. He served as Ammon Bundy's armed personal security detail during the occupation, prosecutors said.
* Jason Charles Blomgren, 42, of Murphy, North Carolina, pleaded guilty June 16 to a conspiracy charge. He admitted to patrolling the grounds of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and frequently standing guard with guns at its entrances.
Prosecutors will dismiss a charge of possessing firearms or dangerous weapons in a federal facility as long as he continues to accept responsibility for the crime. They recommended that Blomgren face the low end of the sentencing guidelines for his offense level, which would suggest six months on home detention. He's to be sentenced Oct. 14.
* Geoffrey Stanek, 26, of Lafayette, Oregon, pleaded guilty June 14 to a conspiracy charge. Prosecutors recommended six months of home detention for his first felony conviction. He frequently performed armed guard duty in the watchtower and at the refuge entrances.
Prosecutors will dismiss a charge of possessing firearms or dangerous weapons in a federal facility. He's to be sentenced Oct. 7.
* Eric Lee Flores, 22, of Tulalip, Washington, pleaded guilty June 9 to a conspiracy charge. He admitted traveling to the refuge with guns and did guard duty there.
Prosecutors recommended that Flores, among the youngest indicted in the case and now with his first felony conviction, serve six months on home detention when he's sentenced Dec. 8. Other charges will be dropped, according to the deal.
* Corey Lequieu, 45, of Fallon, Nevada, pleaded guilty May 19 to a conspiracy charge. Prosecutors recommended that Lequeiu spend two-and-a-half years in prison. As part of the plea deal, the government agreed not to level other federal charges. He's to be sentenced Aug. 25. Prosecutors said he traveled in a convoy with Ammon Bundy and others to the refuge, where they cleared the buildings while armed.
*Wesley Kjar, 32, of Salt Lake City, Utah, pleaded guilty June 23 to one count of federal conspiracy in the refuge takeover case. He provided "armed personal security'' for Ammon Bundy and was at the refuge for less than a week, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 9, prosecutors said. Prosecutors will recommend he spend six months in home detention, followed by up to three years supervised release. His sentencing is Oct. 28.
A ninth person charged separately for theft also has pleaded guilty in the Oregon case.
* Scott A. Willingham, 49, of Colorado, pleaded guilty May 12 to one count of theft of government property for his role in removing a camera at an electrical substation near the refuge. A second theft count was dismissed. Under a plea agreement, he's expected to face six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. His sentencing is set for Sept. 23.
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Time line
The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge southeast of Burns in Harney County began Jan. 2 and lasted 41 days. Most of the defendants came from Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Arizona.
Twenty-six people were charged with conspiring to impede federal officers from doing their work at the refuge through "intimidation, threats or force.''
* Dylan Wade Anderson, 34, of Provo, Utah, arrested leaving the refuge Jan. 27
* Sandra Lynn Anderson, 48, of Riggins, Idaho, surrendered at the refuge Feb. 11
* Sean Larry Anderson, 48, of Riggins, Idaho, surrendered at the refuge Feb. 11
* Jeff Wayne Banta, 47, of Yerington, Nevada, surrendered at the refuge Feb. 11
* Jason Charles Blomgren, 42, of Murphy, North Carolina, arrested in Bunkerville, Nevada, on Feb. 10
* Ammon Edward Bundy, 40, of Emmett, Idaho, arrested at a roadblock on U.S. 395 on Jan. 26
* Ryan C. Bundy, 43, of Bunkerville, Nevada, arrested at a roadblock on U.S. 395 on Jan. 26
* Brian Cavalier, 45, of Bunkerville, Nevada, arrested at a roadblock on U.S. 395 on Jan. 26
* Blaine Cooper, 36, of Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona, arrested in Springdale, Utah, on Feb. 11
* Shawna Cox, 59, Kanab, Utah, arrested at a roadblock on U.S. 395 on Jan. 26
* Duane Leo Ehmer, 45, of Irrigon, Oregon, arrested leaving the refuge Jan. 27
* David Lee Fry, 27, of Blanchester, Ohio, surrendered at the refuge Feb. 11
* Eric Lee Flores, 22, of Tulalip, Washington, arrested in Tulalip on Feb. 11
* Wesley Kjar, 32, of Manti, Utah, arrested in Weber County, Utah, on Feb. 11
* Corey Lequieu, 45, of Fallon, Nevada, arrested in Nevada on Feb. 11.
* Kenneth Medenbach, 63, of Crescent, Oregon, arrested in Burns on Jan. 15
* Joseph Donald O'Shaughnessy, 45, of Cottonwood, Arizona, arrested in Burns on Jan. 26
* Jason S. Patrick, 43, of Bonaire, Georgia, arrested leaving the refuge Jan. 27
* Ryan Waylen Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Montana, arrested at a roadblock on U.S. 395 on Jan. 26
* Jon Eric Ritzheimer, 32, Peoria, Arizona, surrendered in Peoria on Jan. 26
* Peter Santilli, 51, of Cincinnati, Ohio, arrested in Burns on Jan. 26
* Darryl William Thorn, 31, of Marysville, Washington, arrested in Bend on Feb. 11
* Neil Wampler, 68, of Los Osos, California, arrested in Los Osos on Feb. 11
* Geoffrey Stanek, 26, of Lafayette, Oregon, arrested in Forest Grove on Feb. 11
* Travis Cox, 20, of Oregon, arrested in Utah on April 11.
* Jake Ryan of Montana, arrested in Clark County on April 5
A federal court unsealed the six-count indictment on March 9. The indictment also charged 20 of the defendants with possessing firearms and dangerous weapons at the federal refuge, nine with use and carry of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, three with theft of government property and two with depredation of government property.
Those charged with possessing firearms and dangerous weapons:
* Ammon Bundy
* Ryan Bundy
* Ritzheimer
* Payne
* Cavalier
* Shawna Cox
* Travis Cox
* Patrick
* Dylan Anderson
* Sean Anderson
* Fry
* Banta
* Sandra Lynn Anderson
* Kjar
* Lequieu
* Blomgren
* Thorn
* Stanek
* Flores
* Ryan
Those charged with use and carry of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence:
* Ammon Bundy
* Ryan Bundy
* Ritzheimer
* Cavalier
* Payne
* Patrick
* Sean Anderson
* Fry
* Lequieu
Those charged with theft of government property:
* Medenbach
* Ritzheimer
* Ryan Bundy
Those charged with with depredation of government property:
* Sean Anderson
* Ryan
Since the indictment, one of the charges has been dropped. On June 10, a judge dismissed the count of using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence for eight defendants. Prosecutors had previously agreed not to seek prosecution for the ninth person, Lequieu, as part of a May 19 plea deal.
Federal judges have granted the release of Shawna Cox, Ehmer, O'Shaughnessy, Stanek, Sandra Anderson, Flores, Ritzheimer, Dylan Anderson, Ryan, Travis Cox, Patrick and Medenbach pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
The Bundy brothers, Payne, Cavalier, Cooper, O'Shaughnessy and Santilli are also co-defendants in a separate federal case in Las Vegas on a federal indictment stemming from the 2014 armed standoff with federal officers outside the Bundy Ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada.
— Tony Hernandez
thernandez@oregonian.com
503-294-5928
@tonyhreports