Missoula man sentenced to 22 months for illegal gun possession
A Missoula man who admitted to illegally possessing two firearms was sentenced Friday to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said Scott Michael Todd, 39, pleaded guilty in September to prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
In court documents filed in the case, the prosecution said that in December 2018, Montana Probation and Parole officers conducted a check and search of Todd’s residence. The officers found two firearms, a Winchester Model 94 rifle loaded with four rounds and a Heritage .22-caliber long rifle revolver. Todd was convicted in 2014 of felony robbery in Montana and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
In the 2014 robbery, the Missoulian reported that Todd was part of a gang of three people that worked together to steal prescription Percocet pills from a woman in her Target Range home.
According to authorities, Todd plotted with Michael Dean Hummel and Leanna Rae Hoff to take the woman’s pills forcefully during a home invasion, according to affidavits filed by the Deputy Missoula County Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee Peterson prosecuted the firearms case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Missoula Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole.
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Molloy presided.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, the USDOJ’s initiative to reduce violent crime.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 through 2018.
Through these initiatives, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.