MISSOULA – Eric Daniel Doyle, a 37-year-old former Kalispell resident, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison followed by 3 years supervised release after pleading guilty to illegal export, attempted illegal export, and felon in possession of firearms on February 7, 2018. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy handed down the sentence.
Doyle admitted to supplying buyers from Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada with firearms and magazines when he was interviewed by law enforcement in September 2014. In approximately February 2014, Doyle began selling firearms on a website to people in other countries. Doyle learned that there were a lot of people in the Kalispell area trying to sell firearms and, at the same time, a lot of people online that wanted to buy them. Doyle would check his email messages to see what types of firearms people were requesting, and then see what was available around town. Doyle also checked local gun websites or gun shows for the types of firearms sought in the email requests.
Doyle used associates to package and ship most of the firearms. He personally packaged 12 firearms. At the time of his interview, Doyle estimated that he and his associates shipped 25 to 35 firearms out of the Kalispell area. Doyle filled out all of the shipping paperwork and customs forms used to send the packages. When officers later searched his storage unit they found one of the packed firearms with its pre-filled customs and shipping form. In addition, officers found fifteen firearms, ten pistol magazines, and 150 rounds of ammunition as well as packing and shipping materials.
Doyle also acknowledged that he was a convicted felon and he knew that he was prohibited from possessing firearms. Doyle’s prior felony convictions include possession of cocaine, burglary, and unlawful deliver of a controlled substance (cocaine) from Illinois.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart and investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
