MISSOULA—A Billings man has been put behind bars for his involvement in a high-speed chase that ended with him firing a shot at a truck in Bozeman.
A 39-year-old Billings resident, Joseph Wayne Waters, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for his conviction of illegally possessing firearms, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Waters pleaded guilty in September to being a prohibited person in possession of firearms.
Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided at sentencing.
On January 20, 2018, Waters was involved in a high-speed chase in Bozeman, during which he fired a shot at a truck, hitting it in the tailgate. Waters and two others were driving in Bozeman when the driver of Waters’ vehicle saw her ex-husband and began following his vehicle at a fairly high rate of speed.
Waters called the ex-husband during the pursuit, and law enforcement officers obtained phone records that reflected those calls. Eventually, Waters fired a shot at the truck.
When the chase ended, the driver consented to a search of her vehicle, and officers seized three firearms from Waters’ backpack. The firearms included a .32 caliber revolver, a 9mm pistol, and a .40 caliber pistol.
Waters, having been convicted of a felony aggravated assault in 1997 in Montana, was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Racicot prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bozeman Police Department, and the Missoula Police Department.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the government’s violent crime reduction efforts.
Key Facts
- State: Montana
- Category: Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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