Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on August 14, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, STEVEN FIREMOON, a 19-year-old resident of Poplar, pled guilty to possession of stolen firearms. Sentencing is set for November 24, 2008. He is currently released on special conditions.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On October 6, 2007, FIREMOON and two juveniles broke into T.K.'s garage in Poplar to vandalize some of T.K.'s property. While in the garage, they observed a green gun case and decided to steal it. They placed the gun case into a wagon and pushed it away. Later, using a crow bar to open the gun case, they discovered four firearms - two pistols and two rifles. They took the pistols to FIREMOON'S house and hid the rifles near a grain bin. After dark, they retrieved the rifles and took all the firearms to the juveniles' residence.

When apprehended, one juvenile helped the criminal investigators recover the four stolen firearms from various locations within the house where the two juveniles resided. The .357 pistol was in a bucket in the juvenile's bedroom, the .30-.30 rifle was in the attic, the .270 rifle was under a dresser, and the .22 pistol was in the kitchen trash can. The second juvenile helped with the location of the .22 pistol.

When interviewed by law enforcement, FIREMOON admitted to his participation in the theft of the firearms.

FIREMOON 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 the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.