Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearm
POCATELLO – Roy Joe Johner, 31, of the Seattle, Washington, area, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Pocatello to felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, in August 2010, Johner possessed a Glock Model 22, .40 caliber pistol in Blackfoot, Idaho. Johner admitted in court today that he knew he was prohibited from possessing the firearm due to a previous felony conviction for assaulting a peace officer in 2005 in Ravalli County, Montana.
The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years supervised release.
Sentencing is set for April 5, 2012, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the Bingham County Sheriff's Office, the Blackfoot Police Department, the State of Idaho Bureau of Probation and Parole, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Johner was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent and deter gun violence.
