Michael Andrew Kannegiesser Sentenced In U.S. District Court

The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on May 23, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, MICHAEL ANDREW KANNEGIESSER, a 22-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. KANNEGIESSER was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 15 months

Special Assessment: $100

Community Service: 150 hours

Supervised Release: 3 years

KANNEGIESSER was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of a stolen firearm.

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

On July 8, 2012, KANNEGIESSER was stopped for speeding by law enforcement in Red Lodge. The deputy conducting the stop could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage and marijuana coming from inside KANNEGIESSER's vehicle, and found an open can of beer in the cup-holder. KANNEGIESSER had a suspended driver's license and his passenger had two warrants. Both were taken into custody. Marijuana and other items of drug paraphernalia were located in the vehicle. While in the vehicle, KANNEGIESSER told the officer that he had a gun right next to him, and the officer found a Springfield, model XDM, 9 mm, semi-automatic pistol right next to where KANNEGIESSER had been sitting, covered by a sleeping bag. KANNEGIESSER gave several conflicting stories about whether the gun was his and then where he had obtained the gun. He also reported that he had a Ruger 10-22 and a Marlin .22 at home. When the deputy checked the gun's serial number, he found that it had been stolen from a person in Billings in May, along with a Ruger 10-22 and a Marlin .22. Both KANNEGIESSER and his passenger were taken into custody; Kannegieser reported that he was on probation and could not be in possession of a firearm.

An ATF Task Force Officer contacted KANNEGIESSER several days later and received additional conflicting stories about his acquisition of the gun, and where the others he had reported he owned were. The officer was unable to retrieve the other stolen guns.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that KANNEGIESSER will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, KANNEGIESSER 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 a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Red Lodge Police Department.