A Hays man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for possessing illegal firearms, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme. Wylon Alfred Plainfeather, 54, received a 48-month sentence and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty in March 2025 to possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of an unregistered silencer.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters handed down the sentence.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers searched a Billings residence on December 27, 2022, while looking for a probationer who was not present at the time. During the search, officers found three firearms in the basement.
As officers were preparing to leave, Plainfeather arrived at the house and admitted that he owned all three guns. He acknowledged that one was a sawed-off shotgun and another was a .22 caliber rifle with a tube attached. Plainfeather told officers he had fired the gun with the tube but said it was not very effective at reducing noise. He stated that he obtained all of the firearms from the reservation through trades.
Law enforcement confirmed that the firearms were operable but not registered to Plainfeather or anyone else in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Hendricks prosecuted the case. The investigation involved agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and Montana Probation and Parole.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, which coordinates resources from multiple Department of Justice programs including Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) to address violent crime and criminal organizations nationwide.
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