Judge sentences Billings man to prison for firearms crimes

BILLINGS—A Billings man convicted at trial of firearms crimes was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Jerome Lawrence Wigmore Jr., 49, was convicted in a two-day jury trial in October on all three counts, including felon in possession of firearms, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of a firearm not identified by a serial number.

Prosecutors presented evidence that law enforcement officers served an arrest warrant on Wigmore in a Billings motel room on Jan. 4, 2018. Officers found that Wigmore possessed a .357-caliber revolver and a .22 caliber weapon made from a rifle, which was not identified by a serial number. Wigmore is prohibited from possession firearms because of a prior felony conviction for aggravated assault in Rosebud County.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Marshals Service Montana Violent Offenders Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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