Corey Lequieu became the first defendant Tuesday to be sentenced in the federal conspiracy case stemming from the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January.

U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown sent Lequieu to prison for 2 1/2 years followed by three years of supervised release. Lequieu, in custody in the Multnomah County Jail, also must pay restitution in an amount to be determined later.

In May, Lequieu, 46, became the first of 26 standoff defendants charged with conspiracy to plead guilty. He admitted to impeding federal employees through threats, intimidation or force from working at the refuge outside Burns.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison, but federal prosecutors recommended that Lequieu serve less time as part of a plea agreement and under sentencing guidelines. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said the government considered that Lequieu was the first in the case to take responsibility when making the offer.

Brown agreed that the government's recommendation was fair.

Gabriel dismissed Lequieu's remaining count of possessing a firearm in a federal facility. The government, both in Oregon and Nevada, also agreed not to file felon in possession of a firearm charges against Lequieu, Gabriel said. Lequieu, of Fallon, Nevada, had ties to the 2014 Cliven Bundy standoff near Bunkerville.

Lequieu's defense attorney, Ramon Pagan, told the court that he and his client were grateful that they reached an agreement with the government without Lequieu agreeing to testify against other defendants in the case.

On Monday, the government had asked that Lequieu's sentencing be pushed back until December, when other defendants in the case will be scheduled for sentencing.

That would allow the victims, employees of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management, to make one trip to Portland to speak about the fear they felt and continue to feel because of the occupation, Gabriel said. The workers couldn't make Tuesday's hearing, he said.

But Brown decided to move ahead because Lequieu wished to do so. The judge noted that Pagan will no longer be able to represent Lequieu because he recently was appointed as a Circuit Court judge in Washington County. The victims, Brown said, will also have the opportunity to attend other sentencing hearings in the case.

"There will be a time and a place for them to be heard," Brown said.

Ten other defendants charged in the conspiracy case have pleaded guilty.

Gabriel told the court that Lequieu traveled to Harney County from Nevada last December before the occupation took place. He was among a group of protesters, including Jon Ritzheimer and Ryan Bundy, who were first to arrive at the refuge and enter the buildings with weapons on Jan. 2.

Lequieu was seen holding an assault rifle in a video calling for militia members to support the occupation, Gabriel said. He also worked as security at the refuge and was armed with an assault rifle in that capacity, the government has said.

Earlier this year, prosecutors said Lequieu made violent threats against the Bureau of Land Management and the FBI and claimed ties to the Nevada and 3 percent militias.

Pagan has said his client didn't play a leading role in the takeover, while the government has characterized Lequieu as one of its planners.

Lequieu left the refuge after the FBI and state police arrested Ammon Bundy and other leaders during a stop outside the refuge on Jan. 26.

He was arrested Feb. 11 in Nevada and returned to Oregon. In April, a judge declined to release him from custody, pending trial.

Pagan told the court that before the takeover, Lequieu hadn't recently engaged in criminal behavior and his life was moving in a better direction.

Brown addressed Lequieu and asked if he had anything he wanted to say. She told him she was required to listen.

"I've heard some horror stories about inmates not getting credit for time served," he told her.

The judge told Lequieu that his days in jail count toward his prison sentence. He also could receive a reduction on his sentence for good behavior, she said.

Lequieu then asked if the judge could recommend that he serve his time at the federal prison in Sheridan. He looked at a map, he told her, and believes the prison is closest to his Nevada home. The trip to the Oregon prison, he said, would be easiest on his family and supporters.

Brown agreed to make the recommendation. But ultimately, she said, the Federal Bureau of Prisons will decide where he goes.

Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington