A Thompson Falls man with two prior federal felony convictions and other state felonies was sentenced today to five years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for admitting to firearms crimes after law enforcement found numerous guns at his residence, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
The defendant, James Vernon Day, Jr., 56, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court also imposed a $20,000 fine.
The government alleged in court documents that Day previously had been convicted in federal court in Montana in 2004 of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and in 2018 of illegal sale of outfitted mountain lion hunts and was prohibited from possessing firearms. Day also had prior state felony convictions in Montana and Idaho.
In December 2023, Sanders County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at Day’s property to serve a search warrant for stolen vehicle parts. Day confronted deputies but retreated into his residence as the search began.
Day told deputies they could not enter his residence. During the search, Day was generally non-compliant with law enforcement’s requests for more than an hour, and, to hide his illicit behaviour, Day set fire to his phone.
During the search, deputies located a .44-caliber rifle in a shop building. The shop also had three gun safes that contained gun parts, including a barrel from an assault rifle and a barrel from a shotgun. Deputies also found a freshly killed deer head. Day eventually exited his residence and was arrested.
In a search of Day’s residence, deputies located an additional 36 firearms, which were strewn around the house. One of those firearms, found on the kitchen floor, was a .222-caliber rifle that had a barrel of less than 16 inches.
Possession of a firearm with a shortened barrel is against federal law. In Day’s vehicle, deputies found a .44-caliber revolver.
