Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on April 21, 2014, Ryan Ronald Mountain a.k.a. Ryan Ronald Edward Mountain 33, from Grand Forks, N.D. was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

In Bismarck, United States Attorney Timothy Purdon said: "Convicted felons may not possess firearms and ammunition. Federal penalties for those who would ignore this law are especially severe for felons who have commit crimes of violence and serious drug crimes. The stiff sentence handed out in this case shows that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners are working together to vigorously enforce these laws."

Federal firearm statutes prohibit possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. According to the indictment filed, Mountain was previously convicted of the following felonies: delivery of marijuana in Grand Forks County, N.D. (2001); possession of drug paraphernalia in Grand Forks County, N.D. (2005); terrorizing (two counts) in Grand Forks County, N.D. (2005); aggravated assault in Grand Forks County, N.D. (2005); and aggravated assault in Cass County, N.D. (2005).

Mountain was found in possession of the Hi-Point 9mm pistol and ammunition on July 26, 2013, when Grand Forks Police and the Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force searched a residence in Grand Forks and arrested him on an outstanding warrant from another case. Further investigation by the Grand Forks Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led to the filing of the Federal firearms charge in U.S. District Court.

Judge Erickson sentenced Mountain to 15 years’ imprisonment, the mandatory minimum under Federal law, based upon his five prior felony convictions for either violent crimes or serious drug offenses. Mountain’s sentence of imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Grand Forks Police Department, and Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force (which is comprised of officers from the Grand Forks Police Department, Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, UND Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Border Patrol), in conjunction with the Grand Forks County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Schneider prosecuted the case.

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