Kelowna man gets 18 months for falsifying statements to buy guns in Montana

By Medicine Hat News on October 17, 2024.

@MedicineHatNews

A Kelowna man who used fake Montana identification to buy firearms to bring back into Canada to sell has been sent to jail for 18 months.

Haptei John Kozak, 27, was also fined $10,000, after he pled guilty in May to four counts of making false statements during firearms transactions.

“Black market firearms smugglers like Kozak contribute to the epidemic of gun violence nationally and internationally because these weapons often end up in the hands of criminals,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich, based in Missoula, Mont., said in a release issued Oct. 8.

“As this case shows, we will work aggressively with our national and international law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who attempt to traffic firearms across our borders,” Laslovich said.

Once released, Kozak will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The U.S. Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agency determined that Kozak had bought 12 handguns in Montana, mostly 9 mm pistols, in four multiple-sale purchases in the fall of 2023.

He provided a falsified Montana driver’s licence with the name Tyler John Cossack, a false date of birth and false address when purchasing guns at stores in Kalispell, Butte, Helena and Missoula.

He was arrested in March 2024. A review of his text messages and other evidence indicated that Kozak had bought the guns in the U.S. with the intent to bring them back to Canada to sell.

“Gun crime has no boundaries, making our efforts to uncover and dismantle illegal firearms channels crucial,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers said in the release. “Traffickers who move firearms from lawful commerce into the hands of violent offenders are directly contributing to the cycle of violence at our borders and beyond.”

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