BILLINGS, Mont. — A Billings man has been sentenced to just over five years in prison for possessing an unregistered firearm.
37-year-old Derek Joseph Velarde pleaded guilty earlier this year after police recovered a .22 caliber rifle he discarded during a domestic dispute in July 2024.
The firearm did not meet federal registration requirements.
Velarde will also serve three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the ATF and Billings Police and prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.
