Chet Joseph Leatherberry, Firearms Violations, Montana 2023

A Miles City man has been sent to prison for violating firearms laws in Billings and Miles City, the Grimy Times has learned.

Chet Joseph Leatherberry, 35, was sentenced to 45 months in prison and three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Leatherberry pleaded guilty in February to possession of stolen firearms and to possession of unregistered firearms.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the case.

The prosecution said Leatherberry violated firearms laws through a series of offenses. In December 2016, Leatherberry possessed a stolen .380-caliber pistol in Billings. Yellowstone County sheriff’s deputies found the pistol next to Leatherberry’s bed while serving a search warrant on his residence for stolen goods.

During the search, officers also found stolen electronic equipment, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Leatherberry told officers that he took the pistol from two people who wanted to sell it, had a few potential buyers and thought it was stolen. The pistol’s lawful owner lives in Bozeman and didn’t realize the gun was gone until he was called by law enforcement.

Leatherberry also admitted that he possessed three modified or shortened firearms in Miles City in July 2018 and additionally possessed two stolen pistols a month later.

When arrested on an outstanding warrant in August 2018, Leatherberry told Miles City law enforcement that he had two handguns in a backpack at the time of his arrest. The investigation found that both of the handguns were loaded and had been stolen.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Billings Police Department, Miles City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the government’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.

The program focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/firearms-violations-sends-miles-city-man-prison