MISSOULA — A Missoula woman who admitted to stealing property from the U.S. Forest Service has been sentenced to two years and two months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Kasey Nichol Hugs, 39, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to theft of government property.
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said that U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen also ordered $11,836 restitution for the damage caused to the property Hugs stole.
The government alleged in court documents that on Dec. 26, 2020, a white Dodge Ram 2500 crew cab pickup truck — valued at approximately $40,000 — and two government cell phones were stolen from the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula.
Five days later, Hugs stole a second truck, a 2017 Ford crew cab, valued at more than $28,000, from the same facility.
Hugs then drove the trucks to various businesses in Missoula, according to a news release.
The Ford was located on the Flathead Indian Reservation and the Dodge was recovered from the side of Montana Highway 200 in Lincoln in January 2021.
Both vehicles sustained property damage and were missing their truck bed toppers.
Hugs was identified through surveillance videos and other evidence as having stolen the property.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided. The judge also ordered $11,836 restitution for the damage caused to the property Hugs stole.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla E. Painter prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Forest Service and Missoula Police Department conducted the investigation.
