BISMARCK - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on April 24, 2013, Jamie N. Nilsen, 28, Bismarck, N.D., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Nilsen pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 30, 2012.
Judge Hovland sentenced Nilsen to serve 15 years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Nilsen was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
During the early morning hours of April 25, 2012, Nilsen was engaged in an argument with a female at her residence in Bismarck, N.D. Nilsen brandished and discharged a.45 caliber handgun during the dispute in the garage of the girlfriend’s residence. Nilsen broke through the front door and entered the residence, still possessing the gun. At approximately 3:10 a.m., the Bismarck Police Department responded to a 911 call from the residence. Upon the arrival of the police, Nilsen entered a car with the gun and refused to comply with officer commands. The SWAT team and hostage negotiator came to the scene. At 6:54 a.m., Nilsen gave up the gun and surrendered.
Nilsen was prohibited from possessing a firearm by virtue of his seven prior felony convictions, including an aggravated assault conviction and two burglary convictions in 2004. Due to the fact that three or more of these convictions were “violent felony" convictions, the offense carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Bismarck Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hagler prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
