Man pleads guilty to false passport info

A 58-year-old Lakeside resident has pleaded guilty to making a false statement in a passport application in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Robert Ryan Woods will face possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 13, 2011.

He pleaded guilty Oct. 14 to U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy.

According to an offer of proof from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Woods willfully and knowingly made a false statement in an application for a passport on Oct. 2, 2008, by failing to disclose he had previously used the names Robert William Longwood and Dennis Dale Blanchard on passport applications.

He had previously been granted a passport under the the name Robert William Longwood, according to the offer of proof.

Woods is currently being detained until his sentencing. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.