A Franklin County man was convicted on firearm possession charges.
In federal court Thursday June 29, Donald Greuter, Jr., 57, was sentenced to 114 months’ imprisonment for being a felon in possession of firearms. Following his sentence, Greuter will serve a 3-year supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
In December of 2019, Greuter was on parole for a felony drug distribution conviction. Greuter was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. On January 8, 2020, law enforcement conducted a parole search on Greuter’s home in Upland where he resided with his significant other, Tricia Easley. During the search, investigators learned that he also owned house next door. Once inside the property, officers discovered several containers of live ammunition in various calibers. In the same room, officers saw a large combination safe that was locked. Between the safe and the wall, officers found two 12-gauge shotguns inside a gun case.
A search warrant was obtained for both properties and investigators recovered 30 firearms, including eight pistols, eight shotguns, 16 rifles, and several thousand rounds of ammunition. Among the firearms located in the safe was a short shotgun, a defaced rifle, two stolen guns, a 50-caliber rifle, and three semiautomatic rifles with high-capacity magazines. In total, investigators located 32 firearms and more than 4,000 rounds of ammunition.
Four of the firearms recovered by investigators were found to have been purchased at a Grand Island pawn shop. Greuter’s significant other, Tricia Easley, said she purchased these firearms at Greuter’s request and transferred the firearms to him. Greuter provided her with the money to pay for the guns and told her to pick them up from the pawn shop. Greuter was present during more than one of these gun purchases. Pawn shop employees, who were familiar with Greuter, observed him handle at least one of the firearms purchased. A special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) examined the guns and ammunition and determined that they were manufactured outside the State of Nebraska. For her part, Easley pleaded guilty to transferring a firearm to a prohibited person and is set to be sentenced on August 2, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Trident Drug Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
