The March armed robbery of Magic Diamond Casino in Billings by two Montana women has led to a third person pleading guilty on a weapons charge. The guns were stolen and later were found on school grounds.
Makyla Shayd Fetter, left, and Taliah Jeneane Ramirez in mug shots, pictured above. Both have plead guilty to robbing a Billings, Mont. casino. A third suspect admitted to providing them the firearms. (Image: Yellowstone County Detention Facility)
Last week, the third suspect. Darwin Dalton Sutherland, 29, of unknown address, admitted in federal court to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm in connection with the case.
He also admitted to giving the suspects the two firearms they used in the holdup, authorities said.
Faces Decade in Prison
On March 16, 2023, when Sutherland is sentenced by US District Judge Susan P. Watters, he could face up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release, according to Montana US Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
It was on March 20 that the suspects, Taliah Jeneane Ramirez, 22, of Billings, and Makyla Shayd Fetter, 28, of Harlem, allegedly robbed liquor from the Magic Diamond Casino in Billings Heights. They grabbed five bottles of Southern Comfort from a casino shelf.
An employee asked Fetter for an ID. Fetter then allegedly pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the clerk and said, “Here’s your … ID.” Then Ramirez fired a gunshot in the air.
The duo then fled in a Buick. A high-speed chase ensued.
The suspects later crashed the car into a fence at Billings’ Ponderosa Elementary School, some 6.2 miles south of the casino.
Fetter was arrested soon after the holdup. Ramirez was arrested later.
The suspects ditched the two guns before jumping out of the car. One of the firearms was located by police soon after the robbery on the school’s playground. The following day, a student found the second firearm also on school property and alerted a teacher. Both weapons were loaded.
Fetter and Ramirez later revealed to police they got the guns firearms from Sutherland.
Guns Stolen From Residence
It turns out the two weapons were among the dozen firearms stolen in a Billings residential burglary on March 17.
Sutherland later confessed he possessed 12 stolen firearms and admitted he gave two firearms to the suspects. He denied stealing the weapons.
It was revealed Sutherland could not possess firearms because he was convicted on a prior burglary count in Montana’s Cascade County.
Over the summer, Ramirez and Fetter both pleaded guilty to three charges and are awaiting sentencing. The charges include robbery affecting commerce, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm in a school zone.
The duo could face up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the robbery charge. On possessing a firearm in a crime of violence, each could face a mandatory minimum of seven years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release.
Possession of a firearm in a school zone means each could face a maximum of five years in prison, not to be run concurrent to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
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