Pawn shop burglars get probation in federal court
Four Flathead Valley men charged last year with stealing guns from two Kalispell pawn shops have been sentenced in federal court in Missoula.
Joshua McCormick, 19, Virgil Matt, 21, and Larry McCormick, 21, of Columbia Falls, and Joseph Lesmeister, 23, of Kalispell, were sentenced on Sept. 11 to five years probation with six months house arrest and ordered to pay $7,319 in restitution.
Joshua McCormick was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, while the other three were ordered to complete 400 hours. All four had pleaded guilty to possession of stolen firearms.
Matt, Lesmeister and Joshua McCormick were each charged with burglary in Flathead County District Court in August 2012 for the theft of about $16,000 in cash, guns, scopes and other optical equipment from the Anything Pawn and Wooden Nickel Pawn stores. They each faced up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Those charges are still active.
Joshua McCormick also faces a felony drug charge after a Columbia Falls police officer allegedly found him in possession of 95.2 grams marijuana by the Red Bridge on April 25, 2012. He faces up to five years in jail and a $50,000 fine if convicted of that charge.
According to court records, Matt was arrested by a Lake County sheriff’s deputy on July 16, 2012, following a traffic stop near Elmo. Marijuana and stolen firearms were discovered in his vehicle along with suspected burglary tools — including a modified coat hanger, several pairs of bolt cutters, a two-way radio and face masks.
Matt allegedly admitted during the traffic stop to being involved in the two Kalispell burglaries and acknowledged that the radio was used for communication during the burglaries. Lesmeister, Matt’s passenger, was also questioned.
When interviewed at the Lake County Detention Center the next day, Matt allegedly described how he and three companions — Joshua McCormick, Larry McCormick and Lesmeister — broke into the Anything Pawn store.
Law enforcement officers contacted the McCormicks about a week later and arranged to buy a firearm. After officers found and seized two firearms stolen from Anything Pawn, the brothers admitted their roles in that store’s burglary.