POCATELLO – Robert Michael Davis, 32, formerly of Sandpoint, was sentenced to over three years in federal prison for unlawful possession of three firearms by a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, Davis was initially arrested on a parole warrant. Officers with the Idaho Falls Police Department attempted to contact Davis to request that he move his car that was blocking snow removal equipment. Davis ran from officers and was apprehended after a short chase. He was identified and officers learned that he was on parole with the Idaho Department of Correction. Davis told the officers that firearms would be found in his car. He admitted that he was a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing guns. Law enforcement searched the vehicle and located drug paraphernalia, three rifles, ammunition, and a silencer.
On December 19, 2023, Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Davis to 39 months in federal prison. Davis was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence is complete.
“Part of our public safety mission is enforcing the law that prohibits dangerous felons from possessing firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “I am proud of the work that our prosecutors and law enforcement partners do every day to keep our streets safe as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.”
“This sentence holds Davis accountable for his illegal weapons activity,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “We’re grateful for the collaboration with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in Idaho to sentence convicted felons with weapons in the interest of community safety.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the cooperative efforts of the Idaho Falls Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Idaho Falls, who investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blythe McLane prosecuted this case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
