JAMESTOWN, ND (trfnews.i234.me) – A Jamestown woman will spend the next 100 months in federal prison for firearms trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The more than eight-year sentence against April Bergman was handed down Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Fargo.
The case began with the burglary and theft of 35 firearms from a federal firearms licensed business in Jamestown. According to authorities, Bergman ended up in possession of three of the stolen firearms, trading methamphetamine for them. The firearms included a Sig Sauer Model P365 9mm pistol, a Beretta Model PX4 Storm .40 caliber pistol, and a Smith and Wesson Model M&P 40 Shield .40 caliber pistol.
Bergman pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person on March 11, 2024.
This case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law in June 2022. This Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target unlawful trafficking and purchasing of firearms.
“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gave our prosecutors valuable tools to confront firearms trafficking,” said North Dakota District U.S. Attorney Max Schneider. “As this strong sentence shows, we will aggressively use those tools to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted felons and those who commit violent crimes.”