POCATELLO - Bruce Leighton Diehl, 43, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Pocatello to unlawful possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to court records, Idaho State probation officers visited Diehl at his residence in Idaho Falls on April 4, 2012, after Diehl failed to attend court-ordered treatment. Diehl was on probation after being convicted in 2011 in Clark County, Idaho, of felony eluding a police officer and felony malicious injury to property. While clearing the residence of other individuals and weapons, the probation officers located a rifle, a 12 gauge shotgun, a pistol, and several rounds of ammunition. Diehl told police that the firearms had been in the garage with his other belongings when he got out of prison, that a friend had moved his belongings from the garage into the house for him, and that he had forgotten that the guns were in the property from the garage.
In addition to the 2011 felony eluding and malicious injury to property convictions, Diehl was also convicted in 1998 of possession of a controlled substance in Bonneville County, Idaho. As a result of these convictions, Diehl is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The charge is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years supervised release.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 3, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the assistance of the Idaho Department of Corrections, Bureau of Probation and Parole.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
