Minot Man Sentenced for Possession of Firearm & Ammunition by Convicted Felon

BISMARCK – U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on December 1, 2014, Samuel Davis Everson III, 48, Minot, N.D., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Everson pleaded guilty to the charge on
September 5, 2014.

Judge Hovland sentenced Everson to serve 15 years in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Everson was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

On January 30, 2013, Everson was stopped for a traffic offense by an officer with the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Department. After smelling the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and after Everson was arrested for driving under suspension, a law enforcement search resulted in the discovery of a loaded 9mm caliber handgun.

On October 7, 2013, Everson was arrested at his residence in Minot, N.D., on a Montana federal warrant for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. During that arrest, a .357/.38 caliber revolver was located in a nightstand in his bedroom.

Everson was prohibited from possessing a firearm by virtue of his eleven prior felony convictions. Due to the fact that three or more of these convictions were “serious drug offense” convictions, the federal firearm offense carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

In February 2014, Everson was convicted of the drug offense in United States District Court in the District of Montana and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. The 15-year North Dakota federal sentence was imposed to run concurrently to the undischarged term of imprisonment on the Montana conviction.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Minot Police Department and the Minot Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hagler prosecuted the case.