A Havre resident, Emil Martin Lundstrom, 59, was sentenced to four years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing firearms. The sentencing took place in Great Falls with Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presiding.
Lundstrom pleaded guilty in May 2025 to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Lundstrom had previously been convicted on October 10, 2017, in the Montana Seventeenth Judicial District Court, Phillips County, where he received a 20-year sentence with five years suspended for eight counts of felony theft.
On September 6, 2024, law enforcement responded to a business in Havre where Lundstrom’s employment was being terminated due to theft. Business owners informed officers that Lundstrom had been found with bullet shell casings in his work vehicle and that he was not permitted to possess firearms while on probation.
A probation search of Lundstrom’s work pickup revealed a Ziploc bag containing several rounds of 9mm ammunition. Officers also searched his residence and camper. In the house, they discovered rifle barrels and buttstocks hidden under bed sheets and three firearms in the bedroom closet along with a safe containing cash. In the camper, pistols, rifles, shotguns, and a .22 caliber pistol were found.
Lundstrom directed officers to additional firearms stored in his garage. During an interview with law enforcement, he admitted knowing he was prohibited from owning firearms because he was on probation but said he had acquired many before his probation began and purchased others through private parties after being placed on probation since he could not buy them from licensed dealers. He also obtained hunting permits after being placed on probation despite knowing the restriction would last for 20 years.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Hill County Sheriff’s Office, and Montana Probation and Parole.
"This case is 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
