Philipsburg Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Firearm Violation

BILLINGS – Doyle Wesley Pearson, a 39-year-old Philipsburg resident, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison followed by 3 years supervised release after pleading guilty to prohibited person in possession of firearms on March 6, 2018.  U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters handed down the sentence. 

Between July 29 and August 1, 2016, Pearson possessed and pawned eight firearms in Livingston, Butte, and Missoula, Montana.  Pearson told law enforcement officers that he pawned the eight firearms at eight difference pawnshops so he would not appear suspicious.  Pearson’s prior convictions include a Montana failure to register as a sex offender in August 2015 and sodomy in the second degree sodomy from Oregon in 1995.  At the time, Pearson was on absconder status with his supervising probation officer and using methamphetamine. 

The case was investigated by the Bozeman Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.