Scott Willingham, who was part of the security team during the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was sentenced Friday for theft of government property in federal court in Portland.

Willingham, in custody since mid-March, was sentenced to six months with credit for the time he's already served.

As soon as a bed becomes available, he'll move to a residential treatment facility for up to four months under a plea deal. He's also been ordered to undergo mental health, alcohol and drug evaluations.

In May, Willingham, 49, pleaded guilty to taking or converting government-owned cameras for his own use outside the wildlife refuge in Harney County. He faced two counts of theft of government property but entered a guilty plea to one count. The other was dismissed.

According to his lawyer, Willingham quit his job as an apartment maintenance man in Colorado and went to the federal bird sanctuary after randomly spotting a YouTube video about the refuge occupiers.

He viewed the video as a "clarion call'' and was generally sympathetic to the concerns that occupation leader Ammon Bundy and his supporters voiced about government overreach with respect to public lands, his attorney, Richard Fredericks, wrote in a sentencing memo.

Willingham drove to the refuge and stayed about three weeks, leaving several days before the Jan. 26 fatal shooting by police of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum.

His attorney said Willingham "laid low'' once occupation leaders were arrested, concerned that a warrant would be issued for his arrest. But once he heard rumors burbling on the Internet that some people suspected he was serving as a government informant, Willingham tried to turn himself into law enforcement, according to his attorney's memo.

"To his surprise, law enforcement did not want to arrest Mr. Willingham,'' his attorney wrote. "In order to get arrested, Mr. Willingham threatened to shoot agents. The threats were not serious.''

Willingham was arrested in Grant County on March 16 on weapons charges.

He told an officer in Mount Vernon that he was prepared to take out his .308 Winchester rifle he claimed to have buried in the woods to "complete his duty to stop tyranny in federal law enforcement,'' according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel.

His rifle wasn't in the woods but at a nearby home. There, police found five magazines containing more than 200 rounds of ammunition along with the rifle, Gabriel said. Messages written on the magazines included: "Brains and Blood,'' "Bye Bye Fed" and "RIP LaVoy Finicum 1/26/16 WAR,'' the prosecutor said.

Willingham told the FBI that he was armed at the Malheur refuge during the occupation but then left and came back to Burns intending to kill Harney County commissioner Steven E. Grasty, Gabriel has said in court.

At his March arraignment in Grant County Circuit Court, Willingham said he wanted to be jailed there to await arrest by federal authorities for his role in the occupation.

Willingham was never charged in the larger conspiracy case stemming from the Jan. 2 refuge takeover, but was the 27th person to face a federal indictment in the 41-day refuge occupation.

Willingham, 49, was with Finicum on Jan. 15 when Finicum took down FBI license plate reader surveillance cameras from a utility pole along a road about six miles from Burns.

U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown commented during Willingham's sentencing that she had just recently seen a video of him removing the FBI cameras, played for jurors this past week at the trial of Ammon Bundy and six other defendants.

Willingham will be on supervised release for two years.

His attorney emphasized in his sentencing memo that Willingham wasn't cooperating with federal law officers.

Fredericks wrote in bold type: "Mr. Willingham is not a Government informant. Cooperation was not part of his plea agreement, he has not provided information to the Government, and he is not a witness for the Government at the current Bundy, et al, trial.''

The maximum sentence for the theft of government property is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

As part of the deal, the weapons charges in Grant County were dismissed against Willingham. District attorneys in both Grant and Harney counties have agreed not to bring any other charges against him.

Willingham told Judge Brown that he made mistakes and that's why he turned himself in.



Willingham, his attorney said, has no financial resources and no support from family or friends.

"Mr. Willingham intends to establish a new beginning for himself in the Portland area; placement into a residential reentry center will afford him the opportunity to get his feet on the ground,'' Fredericks wrote.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian