Ryan Anthony Cislo, Felon in Possession of Firearms, Montana 2014

BILLINGS – Ryan Anthony Cislo, a 33-year-old man from Billings, Montana, has been convicted of being a felon in possession of firearms, federal authorities announced.

A two-day federal trial concluded with a guilty verdict on Thursday, with Judge Susan Watters presiding over the case. Sentencing has been set for March 23, 2016.

Cislo was indicted by a grand jury in December of 2014 on two counts: being a felon in possession of firearms and possession of stolen firearms. At trial, the government presented evidence that in June of 2014, Cislo was being supervised for a 2009 felony conviction from Flathead County.

According to court documents, Cislo had been released from custody in May of 2014 and was periodically living in the home of his girlfriend’s mother between May 7 and June 9. The homeowner called Cislo’s probation officer on June 9 to report that Cislo had shown her three handguns and requested that the officer come to her home to search Cislo’s belongings and remove the firearms.

Four officers with Montana Probation and Parole responded and searched the room that Cislo had been using. The officers found two handguns stuffed between the mattress and the box spring of the bed. One of the guns was loaded and had a live round in the chamber. The other contained a loaded magazine. The officers also found a Sentry gun safe and a wallet containing Cislo’s driver’s license, Social Security card, and various credit cards.

When questioned by law enforcement, Cislo denied ever living at the house in question or knowing anything about the firearms found there. However, he had listed the address where the firearms were located as his residence on a monthly probation report from May 2014 and stated later in a jail call that he had stayed at the residence for at least ten nights.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Sullivan and Lori Suek. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and Montana Probation and Parole.

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