Great Falls man admits to false statement while attempting to purchase gun

A Great Falls man admitted in federal district court on Aug. 30 that he did not disclose he was a methamphetamine user when he attempted to purchase a gun from a firearms dealer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Joshua Raymond Sauve, 35, pleaded guilty to making a false statement during a firearm transaction. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The court set sentencing for Jan. 24, 2024 and ordered Sauve detained pending further proceedings, according to a release.

According to court documents, Great Falls law enforcement received a 911 call in April 2022 of a person, later identified as Sauve, waving a gun in the air while walking in the middle of the street near a gas station.

Officers found Sauve in the gas station’s restroom, ordered him out and seized a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol from his waistband, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Sauve told an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he tried to buy the pistol at Scheels but received a delay on the purchase, according to court documents.

Due to the delay, Sauve contacted someone else who could buy the same gun for him and acknowledged that he had used meth for the last five years, according to court documents.

Investigators determined that Sauve tried to buy the pistol at Scheels, a licensed firearms dealer, and knowingly made a false statement when he checked the box on the ATF purchase form indicating that he was not an unlawful user of a controlled substance, according to court documents.

Scheels did not allow Sauve to purchase the pistol, but his statement was capable of influencing Scheels into believing that the firearm could be lawfully sold to him, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley is prosecuting the case. The ATF and Great Falls Police Department conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on core principles of fostering trust and legitimacy in 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.