A Washington man convicted of indecent exposure in Lincoln County last year has pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession in federal court.

Mallory Nehemiah Brown, 43, of Auburn, Washington, pleaded guilty Tuesday to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Brown faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Brown has a 2004 bank robbery conviction on his record, which prohibits him from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Brown was removed from an Amtrak train Jan. 9, 2024, in Libby after allegedly masturbating in front of two teenage girls. It led to a search of his possessions where officers found four guns, three without serial numbers.

U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said on Jan. 8, 2024, Brown boarded an Amtrak train in Seattle with a black duffel bag and several long boxes. Brown placed his bags and boxes on the luggage rack. The train stopped in Libby on Jan. 9 because of the indecent assault complaint by other passengers about Brown. Libby Chief of Police Cody Ercanbrack and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Davis removed Brown from the train. 

The train conductor located Brown’s bags. Inside, he discovered four guns, ammunition, magazines, a suppressor, eight firearms receivers, night vision goggles, a tactical vest and other assorted accessories. The four firearms were identified as a .22 LR HV rifle, which had a serial number; a 12-gauge pump shotgun with an obliterated serial number; a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun with no visible serial number; and a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol with no visible serial number. Brown denied the bags belonged to him, but several Amtrak employees identified Brown as the person who loaded the bags on the train. One of the boxes had a shipping label on it addressed to “Mallory Brown.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto presided over the gun case. Sentencing was set for May 29 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Brown is locked up in the Missoula County Detention Center pending further proceedings.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Libby Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, FBI and Montana Probation and Parole conducted the investigation.