Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A 36-year-old Monroe, Washington man who burglarized a Fred Meyer store stealing 29 firearms and selling them to criminals was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  MATTHEW ELSHAUG pleaded guilty in October 2014 to Conspiracy to Possess and Sell Stolen Firearms, Possession and Sale of Stolen Firearms, Theft of Firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee, and being a Felon in Possession of Firearms.  U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered three years of supervised release to follow the prison term and recommended a residential drug treatment program while ELSHAUG is incarcerated.

According to records filed in the case, in the early morning hours of November 17, 2013, ELSHAUG burglarized the Snohomish Fred Meyer store, using a crowbar to steal 29 firearms from the gun case.  ELSHAUG, accompanied by his then-roommate Casey Yount, 27, then sold the guns to two other defendants for money and drugs.  Yount was sentenced last December to three years in prison for Conspiracy to Receive, Possess, Barter, and Sell Stolen Firearms.  Levi Herz, 31, of Everett, Washington, bought nine of the stolen guns and was sentenced last November to 54 months in prison for Possession and Sale of Stolen Firearms and Distribution of Controlled Substances.  Raymond Baron, 53, of Marysville, Washington also bought some of the stolen guns.  He was sentenced last January to five years in prison for Possession and Sale of Stolen Firearms and possession of an unregistered firearm.  Of the 29 stolen guns, only nine have been recovered by law enforcement.

ELSHAUG has prior convictions in Snohomish County for burglary, theft, and illegal firearms possession.  Yount has prior convictions in Snohomish County for theft and drug crimes.  Herz has prior convictions in Snohomish County for drug crimes.

The case was investigated by the Snohomish Police Department, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department, the Marysville Police Department, the Everett Police Department, the Washington State Department of Corrections, the Snohomish Fugitive Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). The Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement on the case.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham.

Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Public Affairs Officer Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.

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