A Kalispell man was sentenced on Feb. 11 to six years and eight months in prison followed by five years of supervised release after he admitted to transporting stolen firearms and ammunition and trafficking methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.
Joseph Vernon Holmstrom, 41, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to interstate transportation of stolen firearms and to possession with intent to distribute meth.
According to court documents, police responded to a report of an abandoned U-Haul vehicle that appeared to have been stolen in Idaho Falls in December 2019. An investigation led to a Kalispell man, who then discovered his storage unit in Kalispell had been burglarized and that he was missing firearms and ammunition. Holmstrom, who was with the U-Haul, had the victim’s driver’s license in his pocket.
The investigation led to co-defendant, Jeremy Anthony O’Canna, and evidence revealed him entering the victim’s storage unit and removing guns and ammunition. O’Canna sent Facebook messages to people asking if they needed guns and sent photographs of guns and ammunition had to sell. He claimed he was on his way to Idaho Falls to sell guns to Mexicans
In December, Holmstrom sent messages that they were robbed. The firearms and ammunition have not been recovered.
When arrested in Idaho Falls, Holmstrom had a small amount of meth, and witnesses told law enforcement that they purchased meth from Holmstrom.
O’Canna was sentenced previously to two years in prison and ordered to pay $101,900 restitution for conviction in the case.