Billings man accused of illegal possession of firearm in school zone

BILLINGS — A Billings man accused of illegally possessing a gun near a Billings elementary school appeared today in federal court on a firearms charge, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Gabriel Cowan Metcalf, 49, had an initial appearance on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing a firearm within a school zone. If convicted, Metcalf faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $100,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. Metcalf was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that from Aug. 2 to 17, the Billings Police Department received multiple calls and weapons complaints regarding Metcalf, who lives at 430 Broadwater Ave., walking on the sidewalk and around the area carrying a firearm. Broadwater Elementary School is directly across the street from Metcalf’s residence. The sidewalk and streets in front of Metcalf’s residence are public property within 1,000 feet from the school and are a “school zone” as defined in federal statutes.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents arrested Metcalf near his residence on Tuesday night, pursuant to a warrant issued by a federal judge, and executed a search on the residence at 430 Broadwater Ave.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas K. Godfrey is prosecuting the case. The ATF and Billings Police Department conducted the investigation.

PACER case reference. 23-130.

The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl

XXX