A Vancouver, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release for possession and sale of stolen firearms and sale or transfer of firearms to a prohibited person.

Jamie Patrick Edgtton Edgtton, 34, was arrested in April 2012, and pleaded guilty in August 2012, admitting he sold guns that had been stolen in the November 2011 burglary of Discount Guns in Vancouver.  Edgtton admitted that he knowingly sold the stolen guns to another felon who was prohibited from having them.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan said, “Trafficking in firearms presents a serious danger to the public.”

According to records filed in the case, two men, who have since been convicted and sentenced to prison, burglarized the Discount Guns shop shortly after it opened on Nov. 21, 2011.  Daniel McNett and Nicholas Southard stole 26 firearms from the store.  The two sold many of the guns to felons or drug users.  To date, only eight of the stolen firearms have been recovered.  Soon after the robbery, Edgtton procured two of the stolen firearms, a .22 caliber rifle and a .9 mm pistol.  Edgtton sold the two guns and a third handgun to a felon who he knew was prohibited from possessing guns. That felon was later stopped by police in Oregon and the firearms were recovered from his car.

In their sentencing memo, prosecutors noted that Edgtton was prohibited from possessing guns due to prior convictions for assault, burglary and drug crimes.  And they highlighted how trafficking in stolen guns puts the community at risk.  “In the past year, this judicial district has witnessed firsthand the terrible destruction that can result when firearms are put in the hands of the wrong people.  As a result of gun violence, lives are ended, families are destroyed, and dreams are shattered.  The severity and seriousness of Defendant’s crimes cannot be overstated.  A lengthy sentence is appropriate in light of the number of firearms sold, Defendant’s willingness to traffic in stolen firearms with a prohibited person, and the incredible damage these firearms could have wreaked on innocent people had they not been intercepted by law enforcement,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

The case was investigated by the ATF, with assistance from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the Vancouver Police Department, and the Oregon State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Jill Otake.