Evenson sentenced in federal firearms case; local robbery, assault and sexual images of children

Daniel Lee Evenson, 35, was sentenced March 31 in federal court to 180 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In his federal case, a jury found him guilty in October of one count of a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

Evenson, a convicted felon on state supervision, was suspected of new crimes in September 2023, and as part of the investigation, law enforcement searched his residence, seizing a loaded, 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol from a floor vent in his bedroom, according to court documents.

The pistol was stolen from a vehicle in June 2023, and during an interview, Evenson “acknowledged his prior felony convictions, his prohibition from possessing firearms, and the stolen nature of the 9mm pistol,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Andrade sentenced in criminal endangerment case, homicide case pending

He also admitted to committing two hotel robberies with a BB gun, but denied committing a third robbery.

At the time of the offense, Evenson had been convicted of at least three prior offenses for violent felonies.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The ATF, Great Falls Police Department, Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, and Montana Probation and Parole conducted the investigation.

Evenson was also sentenced this year in three district court cases.

In January, he was sentenced to 20 years with 15 suspended, to run concurrently with another case, but consecutively to any other sentence. He was entitled to 807 days of time served credit and was ordered to pay $300 in restitution to Celtic Cowboy.

Lewis sentenced in 2022 Do Bar shooting

In that case, he pled guilty to a felony count of robbery for an incident in which he checked into the Hotel Arvon with a credit card that didn’t belong to him, then entered the Celtic Cowboy and threatened an employee with a gun, according to court documents.

In February, he was sentenced on a felony count of sexual abuse of children to a five-year commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections, with no time suspended, concurrent to his sentence in the Celtic Cowboy case. In that case, he received credit for 844 days of time served.

Graeter sentenced in 2025 Ace Hardware fire

It was determined that Evenson had booked a room at the Celtic Cowboy through Expedia and while investigating that case, accessed an Apple account associated with the booking and found about 281 images of prepubescent girls in various states of nudity, according to court documents.

In March, he was sentenced to five years in state prison with no time suspended for a felony count of criminal endangerment for participating in the beating of another inmate at the Cascade County Adult Detention Center.