Press Release
Oroville Man Sentenced to Prison for Smuggling Firearms
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington
Spokane – Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Tyler Ryan Cuff, age 32, of Oroville, Washington, was sentenced today after having previously pleaded guilty on October 28, 2015 to one count of Dealing in Firearms Without a License. Senior United States District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Cuff to a 30-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of court supervision after he is released from Federal prison. Cuff will serve his sentence concurrently with a sentence he received in Canada for smuggling an AK-47 into that country.
According to information disclosed during the court proceedings, for several years Cuff has been purchasing firearms at gun shows in Washington, smuggling them into Canada, and selling them there. Cuff did not have a federal firearms license. Several of the firearms Cuff sold were subsequently found at crime scenes in Canada.
Michael C. Ormsby stated, “The illegal sale of firearms presents a danger to citizens here in the United States and elsewhere. I commend the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for its thorough investigation of this matter. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington will aggressively prosecute firearms violations that occur within this District.”
This investigation was conducted by ATF&E. The case was prosecuted by Rudy J. Verschoor, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Updated January 22, 2016
Press Release Number: CR-15-00110-WFN