Teen pleads to gun charge

COEUR d’ALENE — A 19-year-old Bonner County man pleaded guilty last week to illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney’s Wendy Olson has announced.

Joshua Christopher Gervasi is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court on March 5. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. He also faces up to three years of supervised release once his custodial sentence is served.

Gervasi, according to court records, was stopped by a Bonner County sheriff’s deputy in August. Gervasi was asked during the traffic stop if there was anything illegal in the vehicle.

Gervasi admitted having a loaded weapon concealed beneath his shirt when he was being pulled over, federal prosecutors said. The deputy recovered a 9-millimeter pistol.

Gervasi was forbidden from possessing the firearm due to a felony drug possession conviction in Bonner County in 2012.

The traffic stop also resulted in several charges against Gervasi that are pending in state court.

Gervasi is charged in 1st District Court with felony drug possession, theft by possession of stolen property, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and driving without privileges.

The charges in state court are pending.

The federal case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhood Program, which aims to reduce gun violence.