BILLINGS-Jimmy Mark Walker, a 36-year old resident of Billings, was sentenced on Friday, May 25, 2018 to 120 months of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. United States District Judge Susan P. Watters issued the sentence.
On Aug. 24, 2016, law enforcement officers arrested Walker’s co-defendant, Huston Curran, after finding him in possession of a small quantity of methamphetamine and a short-barreled shotgun. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were able to determine through investigation that Curran was being supplied with methamphetamine by Walker. On the evening of Aug. 24, 2016, agents went to Walker’s residence along with members of the Montana Department of Probation and Parole, since Walker was under the supervision of the State of Montana at the time for a felony offense. When agents attempted to make contact with Walker, he retreated into his garage and a standoff ensued for the next four hours. Finally, members of the Billings SWAT team were able to convince Walker to surrender without incident.
When executing a search warrant of Walker’s garage, they discovered 12 firearms, including assault rifles capable of carrying large capacity magazines, stolen firearms, one firearm with an obliterated serial number, a ballistic vest, and drug paraphernalia. At sentencing, the district court determined that Walker possessed the firearms in connection with methamphetamine trafficking. The sentence imposed was the statutory maximum for Walker’s offense of conviction.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
