Federal jury convicts Bozeman felon of illegal possession of firearm, ammunition

MISSOULA - A federal jury on Monday convicted a Bozeman felon of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition after a Gallatin County Sheriff's deputy went to serve an arrest warrant and found the defendant armed, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

After a one-day trial on July 15, the jury found the defendant, Perry Edward Carson, 46, guilty of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Carson faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Dec. 5. Carson was detained pending further proceedings.

"Felons illegally possessing firearms, like Carson did, are a threat to public safety, and in this case, Carson's conduct posed a threat to a law enforcement officer when he was attempting to serve an arrest warrant. Keeping guns out of the hands of prohibited persons is critical to reducing overall gun violence. I thank our prosecution team, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their diligent work on this case," U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.

In court documents and at trial, the government alleged that on March 15, a Gallatin County Sheriff's deputy went to Carson's camper to execute an arrest warrant. Carson saw the deputy arrive and told him he was going to put down his gun out of respect and asked the deputy to do the same. Carson entered his camper, went out of sight and then returned to the open door. Carson refused to exit the camper. The deputy directed Carson several times to stay away from the firearm and exit the camper. Eventually, Carson was tased and taken into custody. The deputy obtained a search warrant for the camper and found a 9mm pistol that had a magazine and ammunition. Carson was convicted of a felony drug crime in Pennsylvania and sentenced in 1999.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

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