An East Helena man, Samuel James Collins, admitted on Wednesday to discharging a firearm during a robbery at a Townsend gas station last October. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana confirmed Collins’ guilty plea to possessing and using a firearm during a violent crime on July 10, 2024.

The incident occurred on October 16, 2023, when the Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office responded to an armed robbery at the Town Pump gas station in Townsend. According to court documents, two employees reported that a man wearing a hooded blanket coat, without pants or shoes, entered the station, fired a pistol, and demanded money.

The employees complied, and the suspect fled in a Ford F-150 with approximately $330 in cash. About 20 minutes later, Meagher County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a truck matching the description of the getaway vehicle. The driver, identified as Collins, was arrested.

During the arrest, deputies discovered a pistol, cash, and a shell casing in Collins’ truck. A subsequent, more thorough search revealed a loaded 9mm pistol, $329 in cash, a purple hooded sweatshirt, and a white hat. Ballistic analysis confirmed that the bullet and shell casing found at the scene matched the 9mm pistol from Collins’ truck.

Security camera footage from the Town Pump captured the image of the suspect during the robbery. Collins is scheduled for sentencing on November 24, 2024, facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. He remains in custody until his sentencing.

The investigation involved the Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office, the Meagher County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.