BILLINGS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
BILLINGS – An Absorkee man who was unlawfully carrying a firearm in his truck was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.
Joseph Robert MacDonald, 35, pleaded guilty in April 2026 to unlawful possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided.
The government alleged in court documents that MacDonald, due to a previous state conviction, was barred from possessing a firearm. On Dec. 5, 2025, Billings police pulled over a pickup with a missing front license plate and an obscured rear plate. MacDonald was the driver and he immediately got out of the truck and walked toward the officer, who arrested him on a warrant out of Stillwater County. State Probation and Parole authorized a search of his truck and inside the console, law enforcement found a Canik Mete MC9 handgun.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Billings Police Department and ATF conducted the investigation.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
