The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a man who claims to be the attorney general of the Little Shell Pembina Nation, an illegitimate group based in North Dakota.

Michael Reed, who also goes by the name Boa-Kaa-Konan-Na-Ishakawaanden, was convicted of possessing a firearm and ammunition while he was a fugitive from justice. The FBI found a gun in his office at the Little Shell headquarters while investigating some threatening comments he allegedly made about a federal judge.

Reed claimed that federal prosecutors failed to show that the gun belonged to him, but the 8th Circuit disagreed and said the evidence was sufficient. The court also said Reed was a fugitive from justice because he had failed to answer to drug and other charges in Nevada at the time of his indictment on federal charges.

Reed is serving an 18-month prison sentence.

Get the Story:
Appeals court rejects claim by Little Shell Nation man convicted in ND on weapons charge (AP 3/11)

8th Circuit Decision:
US v. Reed (March 8, 2011)