Pocatello Man Sentenced to 7.5 Years for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm

POCATELLO – A Pocatello man was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court records, on December 9, 2020, officers with the Pocatello Police Department observed Jimmy D. Martin, 44, of Pocatello, who had active warrants for his arrest, leaving his residence on a motorcycle. Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop. Martin failed to yield and engaged police in a pursuit that ended when Martin crashed his motorcycle near the intersection of East Alameda and Franklin in Pocatello. Martin was apprehended after attempting to run away on foot. Police officers located two firearms and a significant quantity of methamphetamine in Martin’s possession after placing him under arrest. One of the firearms had previously been reported stolen. Martin had numerous prior felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Martin to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Martin pleaded guilty to the charge on September 23, 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Pocatello Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which led to charges.

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.

This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney Office’s specially deputized Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and the State of Idaho. The EIP is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho as well as the Idaho Department of Correction.

The EIP SAUSA program allows law enforcement to utilize the federal criminal justice system – through the EIP SAUSA – to prosecute, convict, and sentence violent, armed criminals and drug traffickers. These criminals often receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts.

This program was created in January 2016. Since that time, approximately 188 defendants have been indicted by the EIP SAUSA. Of these defendants, 41 have been indicted on prohibited possession of firearms or ammunition charges. The defendants indicted under the program have been sentenced to 7,857 months (approximately 655 years) in federal prison, representing an average prison sentence of 53.09 (4.42 years). Defendants indicted for offenses involving firearms or ammunition serve, on average, approximately 42.13 months (3.5 years) in federal prison.

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