Billings man sentenced to over 3 years in prison for multiple gun charges

BILLINGS - A Billings man, who is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms because of his prior commitment to a mental institution, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for making false statements to obtain firearms and for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Ryan David Schreder, 45, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to four counts of making a false statement in acquisition of a firearm and one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement began investigating Schreder after repeatedly being told about his escalating behavior. On October 10, 2024, the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office obtained and executed a search warrant for Schreder's residence. They recovered 23 firearms and 1,176 assorted rounds of ammunition, including large capacity magazines, during the search.

During ATF's investigation, it was discovered that between February 11, 2022, and June 18, 2024, Schreder purchased firearms on at least 18 occasions from four different licensed firearms dealers in Billings. Each count of conviction for false statement in acquisition of a firearm represented the transactions made at each of the respective firearms dealers.

To obtain the firearms, Schreder knowingly responded untruthfully on ATF Form 4473 ("Firearms Transaction Record") by answering "no" in response to the question "Have you ever been adjudicated mentally defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution." If a potential buyer answers "yes" in response to this question, a licensed firearms dealer cannot proceed with the sale of a firearm. A licensed firearms dealer has no ability to independently verify the veracity of a response to that question as involuntary commitments are not recorded on criminal history reports in Montana.

At least three firearms Schreder purchased have been recovered by law enforcement during investigations into reports unrelated to him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Vestal prosecuted the case. The ATF and Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.

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