Bozeman man sentenced in firearms case

BILLINGS—A Bozeman man convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison and three years supervised release on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

Anthony Jones, 27, pleaded guilty to the charge in August.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided at the sentencing. Judge Watters ordered the sentence to be consecutive to a state District Court sentence in Gallatin County.

Jones was convicted in Gallatin County in August 2017 of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, and as a result, was prohibited from possessing firearms.

In March 2018, an individual bought a 9mm semi-automatic pistol at Livingston pawn shop. A few days later, Livingston police officers responded to an incident a local motel where Jones, the person who had purchased the pistol and another person were present.

In an interview with law enforcement, Jones admitted to possessing the firearm several times before the weekend police responded to the motel incident and had helped load and clean the pistol.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.

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