Transporting stolen firearms sends Kalispell man to prison

MISSOULA — A Kalispell man who admitted to transporting stolen firearms and ammunition from a storage unit after an abandoned rental truck was found in Idaho was sentenced Friday to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $101,900 restitution, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.

Jeremy Anthony O’Canna, 33, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to transportation of stolen firearms and ammunition.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

The government alleged in court documents that in December 2019, Idaho Falls, Idaho police officers responded to a report of an abandoned U-Haul vehicle that appeared to have been stolen.

An investigation led to a Kalispell man, who then discovered his storage unit in Kalispell had been burglarized and that he was missing firearms, ammunition and other items. The investigation further led to O’Canna and evidence of 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 he had to sell. He claimed he was on his way to Idaho Falls to sell guns to Mexicans.

The firearms and ammunition have not been recovered. Co-defendant Joseph Vernon Holmstrom of Kalispell pleaded guilty to charges and is awaiting sentencing.