Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on August 20, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, the following individual was arraigned:

JARED THEODORE COX, a 21-year-old resident of Helena, appeared on a charge of transferring a handgun to a juvenile. He is currently released on special conditions. If convicted of this charge, COX faces possible penalties of 1 year in prison, a $100,000 fine and 1 year supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette L. Stewart is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Helena Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The defendant pled not guilty to the charge.

ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office are committed to ensuring that the firearm laws are not subverted in a way where a third party is acquiring guns for a person who is not otherwise legally allowed to acquire the gun on their own, including handguns to juveniles. This is a violation of federal law that we take very seriously and which we will fully investigate and prosecute, where appropriate," said Ken Bray, Resident Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Montana, and Bill Mercer, United States Attorney.

The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and any person named as a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

 

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