Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

DAYTON – A former military subcontractor was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm silencer and equipment that was property of the United States.

Joel Montgomery, 50, pleaded guilty to two counts in December 2019: possessing a silencer not registered to him and retaining United States property with a value of more than $1,000.

According to court documents, in June 2015, Montgomery possessed at his home a firearm silencer that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

While executing another search warrant at his home in October 2015, agents discovered an AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System and a Control Countermeasures Set Display Unit that were property of the United States.

Montgomery had previously been employed as a subcontractor on a local military base, and during that time, had gained access to the property of the United States. Upon the end of his employment contract, Montgomery did not return equipment valued at more than $1,000 and instead kept the equipment for his personal use.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Jonathan McPherson, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced the sentence imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose. Assistant United States Attorneys Brent G. Tabacchi and Dwight Keller are representing the United States in this case.

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If you have media questions, contact Jennifer Thornton at jennifer.thornton@usdoj.gov.