BILLINGS- A Miles City man was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for illegal gun possession while in Billings and in his hometown.
Chet Joseph Leatherberry, 35, pleaded guilty in February to charges of possession of stolen firearms and possession of unregistered firearms. He was also sentenced to three years supervised release, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Prosecutors said the violations date back to December 2016, when authorities found a stolen .380-caliber pistol at next to Leatherberry’s bed during a search for stolen goods when he was living in Billings.
Leatherberry told law enforcement he took the pistol from two people who wanted to sell it, and he thought it was stolen. The owner of the pistol in Bozeman didn’t know the gun was stolen until contacted by law enforcement.
Leatherberry also admitted to possessing three modified or shortened firearms in Miles City in July 2018 and two stolen pistols a month later, according to Alme.
Miles City police also found two handguns in his backpack, both stolen, during an August 2018 warrant arrest, Alme said.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the sentencing.
