BILLINGS — A Billings man who admitted selling 11 firearms he stole from a residence to an undercover agent was sentenced Wednesday to three years and one month in prison and to three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.
Rodrigo Gomez, 20, pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, 2020, to possession of stolen firearms.
The prosecution said in court documents that an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives met with Gomez and a co-defendant, Maliyah Jae Chavez, on Feb. 24, 2020 to buy 11 stolen firearms.
The defendants told the agent the firearms were stolen from a residence. The guns were in a safe inside of a garage. The agent paid the defendants for the stolen firearms, which the ATF confirmed had been reported as stolen on Feb. 21, 2020. Gomez admitted to stealing the firearms and selling them.
Chavez pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to three years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. Watters also ordered $26,470 restitution to be paid jointly and severally with a co-defendant. Gomez was detained.
