DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Idaho

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 6, 2018
BART M. DAVIS
, United States Attorney
Contact: RAYMOND E. PATRICCO

Unlawful Gun Possessor Sentenced to 58 Months in Prison

BOISE - Michael Jeffrey Sanders, 27, of Boise, Idaho, was sentenced today in United

States District Court to 58 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the crime of unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Sanders to forfeit the firearms involved in the offense.

 

On November 7, 2017, Sanders pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

 

According to the plea agreement, on January 19, 2017, Boise Police pulled over a car

Sanders was driving for a traffic violation. In the back seat of the car, wrapped in a shirt,

Sanders possessed a short-barreled shotgun under the driver’s seat. Sanders admitted to having handled the shotgun and placing it under the seat. The barrel of the shotgun measured less than 18 inches.

 

According to the plea agreement, on June 24, 2016, Boise Police pulled over a car in which Sanders was a passenger for speeding. Underneath the passenger seat of the car, Sanders possessed a loaded Sig Sauer P232 9mm handgun, with an obliterated serial number. Inside the car, in a backpack, Sanders possessed used and unused syringes, Q-tips, baggies, a digital scale, and a box of hollow point ammunition.

 

According to the plea agreement, Sanders was convicted on May 16, 2014 of possession of a controlled substance, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, and thus, could not legally possess firearms.

 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Boise Police Department.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.

 

In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

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