Re: Yellowstone: Man Sentenced On Felony Weapons Possession Charge

Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Man Sentenced On Felony Weapons Possession Charge

On May 15th, Steven Howe, 52, was sentenced in a Wyoming district court to 28 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to a charge of being a prohibited possessor of a firearm (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)). In August, 2004, Howe was arrested by Yellowstone rangers for DUI and driving with a suspended license. A Ruger .22 rifle was discovered by the rangers during the subsequent inventory of Howe’s impounded vehicle. Through interviews and a review of Howe’s criminal history, special agent Dan Kirschner discovered that Howe obtained the rifle by conspiring with a friend to conduct a “straw purchase” and that Howe had also been convicted on a felony charge of eluding officers in Colorado. Special agent Bruce Applin served a search warrant at Howe’s residence in Bozeman and discovered additional evidence of gun and ammunition ownership. A subsequent grand jury indictment and arrest warrant led to Howe’s arrest last September by federal marshals and an NPS agent. He remained in custody pending the plea agreement and sentencing.

There is another dimension to having a firearm in an exclusive federal jurisdiction such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. In addition to felons and individuals convicted of misdemeanor family violence, a federal statute prohibits drug addicts from possessing firearms. One individual of my professional acquaintance had a string of misdemeanor drug possession convictions, and he was found in possession of a disassembled firearm in Yellowstone. Rangers contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, who in turn contacted a US Attorney, who was able to obtain a federal grand jury indictment - for a drug addict in possession of a firearm. I believe my protagonist of many years received a 2-year sentence in a federal penitentiary for that indiscretion.