The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on September 8, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, DAVID JOHN ROBERTS, a 42-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared for sentencing. ROBERTS was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 24 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 3 years

ROBERTS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On June 6, 2005, ROBERTS was convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in the state of Oregon.

On January 14, 2008, ROBERTS admitted to being in possession of firearms. A search warrant of his home was conducted and a pistol was recovered in his bedroom along with a large amount of ammunition. Additionally, he admitted he had stored numerous rifles at his father's home.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ROBERTS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ROBERTS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This conviction is yet another important outcome from Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national priority of the United States Department of Justice. PSN is designed as a partnership between federal and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun-related crime through the vigorous enforcement of the criminal provisions of the federal firearms laws. In Montana, the effort under PSN is called "Catch and No Release."

 

 

Return to Top