FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 17, 2007
DAVID JOHN GUNSCH PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Helena on December 14, 2007, before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, DAVID JOHN GUNSCH, a 39-year-old resident of Helena, pled guilty to being a felon-in-possession of firearms. Sentencing is set for March 13, 2008. In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On June 6, 2003, GUNSCH was convicted of felony assault with a weapon in Lewis & Clark County. At the sentencing for his state felony conviction, the judge informed GUNSCH that he could not possess firearms. At a hearing when his suspended sentence was amended, GUNSCH was again advised that he could not possess firearms. GUNSCH also signed a state Department of Corrections notice on firearms and initialed a probation document that warned against possessing firearms.
On March 17, 2007, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic violence report concerning GUNSCH and his fiancee in East Helena. The deputy sheriffs interviewed GUNSCH, who was intoxicated, in front of his home.
During a search of GUNSCH'S home, deputies found two rifles in cases underneath several sleeping bags in a storage area beneath a window seat. The rifles were a Remington model 700 .243 caliber and a Tikka model M695 .270 caliber. When questioned, GUNSCH admitted that the rifles were his. A firearms trace revealed that both rifles had been purchased by GUNSCH.
GUNSCH faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette L. Stewart prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between Montana Probation and Parole, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
# # # #
A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
