East Helena man sentenced to five years of probation for pulling gun on high schooler

HELENA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

HELENA – An East Helena man who pulled a gun on a high school student driving through his neighborhood was sentenced today to five years of probation with 80 hours of community service, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Ryan Christopher Williams, 47, pleaded guilty in February 2026 to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that, while within 1,000 feet of a high school, Williams pulled a gun on a student who had been driving through his neighborhood. 

On May 1, 2025, an East Helena High School student was driving through a neighborhood on his way to class and passed a vehicle headed in the opposite direction. The student said the driver then turned his vehicle around and began following him, tailing him to the school. At an intersection in front of the high school, the driver cut off the student with his vehicle, forcing him to stop.

The man then got out of his vehicle, approached the high-schooler and pulled his gun, pointing it at the student. He chastised the teenager for driving too fast and the student apologized. The man got back in his vehicle and left; the student finished driving to school and reported what happened to school staff. 

The school called law enforcement and deputies with the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office canvassed the neighborhood. They eventually found a vehicle that matched the one described by the high-schooler parked on the 2700 block of Bandera Drive. It was registered to Williams. A sheriff’s deputy contacted Williams, who matched the description given by the student, and interviewed him on his front lawn. Williams confirmed that he’d pulled the student over earlier and acknowledged that he was armed at the time. But he denied pulling the gun and pointing it at the teenager. Deputies found the gun on William’s property and it matched the one described by the student. Deputies arrested Williams, who was then interviewed by ATF agents.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.