Coram man sentenced for selling machine gun, breaking other gun laws

A Coram man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 48 months in federal prison and three years supervised release for dealing in firearms without a license and making and transferring a machine gun.

After an investigation by law enforcement agencies, federal prosecutors claimed that John Stewart Davis, 71, of Coram dealt in firearms without a license and that he made and transferred a machine gun that was not registered. He also sold firearms to out of state residents.

Davis had been allegedly dealing firearms without a license for 25 years, although only the years 2013-2015 were listed in the federal indictment.

Undercover law enforcement officers purchased weapons from Davis on multiple occasions at gun shows and at Davis’ shop in northwest Montana. Some of these purchases were regular firearms, some were machine guns, and some sales were to out of state residents. Davis told agents that he made a machine gun and showed them how it worked. Further, the agents observed that a room in his shop had a workbench, tools, and machines for gunsmithing, and that firearms and firearms parts were on the work bench. Davis also obliterated the serial numbers from some of the firearms so they could not be traced back to him. Many of these sales occurred without paperwork, law enforcement agents found.

Davis plead guilty to three counts in the case in June.

He was sentenced by Chief District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.