Dalton Gardens Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearm

COEUR D-ALENE—Cody James Freer, 26, of Dalton Gardens, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene to unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to court statements, in June 2012, an individual contacted Coeur d’Alene Police to check the serial number of a Glock handgun he was planning to buy from a private seller. He wanted to ensure that the firearm was not stolen. Police advised the individual the gun was stolen. Police also determined that the seller, Cody Freer, was prohibited from possessing the firearm because of a prior felony conviction. Freer agreed to sell the buyer the firearm in a Coeur d’Alene parking lot. Police met Freer in the parking lot and arrested him after determining that he possessed the Glock handgun.

The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for January 14, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department with the assistance of the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force (NIVCTF). The NIVCTF members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault, and drug trafficking.

The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.