U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney
District of Maine

District of Maine

www.justice.gov/usao/me

For Immediate Release

January 15, 2013

Quebec Man Sentenced for Lying and Buying Firearms in Maine

Bangor, Maine — United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jeremy Gertsch, 35, of Oka, Quebec, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor, by Chief Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., to nearly 16 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for making false statements in connection with the purchase of firearms. Gertsch pleaded guilty to the charges on September 7, 2012.

Court records reveal that in January, 2011, Gertsch rented a room at a hotel in Augusta, Maine. He then acquired a Maine driver’s license, listing the hotel’s address as his residence. Between January 26 and January 28, 2011, Gertsch used that Maine license to purchase eight handguns from four firearms dealers in the Augusta/Waterville area. Six of the handguns were semi–automatic. On January 29, 2011, Gertsch traveled south to Boston’s South Station, where he purchased a one–way ticket to Montreal.

Following his indictment on September 23, 2011, Gertsch was arrested in Canada on October 2, 2011, and extradited to the United States, where he has remained in custody. The court sentenced him to time served, or just less than 16 months, and ordered him to return to Canada and not re–enter the United States without permission from the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

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