Billings woman sentenced to prison for illegally possessing gun

BILLINGS—A Billings woman who admitted illegally possessing a handgun she threw out of a stolen vehicle during a law enforcement pursuit was sentenced today to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.

Breanne Lee Wieder, 31, pleaded guilty on Aug. 4, 2020 to prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

In court documents filed in the case, the prosecution said that on Aug. 13, 2019, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Billings Police Department officers pursued a stolen truck in the Lockwood area. Officers saw Wieder, the passenger, throw a pistol out the window. The pursuit ended a short time later. Officers recovered a .22-caliber pistol with an obliterated serial number from a front yard. The pistol was loaded with a round in the chamber. Ammunition for the pistol was recovered from the truck and Wieder’s purse. Wieder and the driver and co-defendant, Joseph Alan Sleeping Bear, were arrested for supervision violations and charges related to the stolen vehicle. Sleeping Bear was convicted in the federal case and sentenced to 45 months in prison.

Wieder was on state supervision for a prior felony conviction at the time of the offense and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Billings Police Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Montana’s Probation and Parole Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case is part of Project Guardian, a Department of Justice initiative launched in the fall of 2019 to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Through Project Guardian, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Montana is working to enhance coordination of its federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement partners in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes. In addition, Project Guardian supports information sharing and taking action when individuals are denied a firearm purchase by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for mental health reasons or because they are a prohibited person.

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