A man banned from owning a gun for a domestic violence offense was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for breaking into a farm store in Woodburn and exiting the front door with five AR-15-style rifles.

Police found Nicholas Tilmon, 34, holding two Smith and Wesson AR-15 rifles, a Sig Sauer rifle, an Alex Pro APF-15 rifle and a Ruger AR-553 rifle, according to court records. Prosecutors said the man told police he heated a window with a flashlight until the glass broke.

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon on Wednesday. Tilmon was sentenced to two years in prison after previously pleading guilty to possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.

Woodburn police officer Joshua Mitchell spotted Tilmon at 4:45 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2022, while responding to an audible alarm at the Coastal Farms & Ranch Store. He ordered him to drop the rifles and lie face down, which he did.

But when asked for his name, Tilmon gave a false date as well as a false date of birth, according to police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole said that when officers searched the store, they found a still-lit torch as well as a pile of seven rifles piled up on the floor behind a gun counter, suggesting Tilmon planned to return to the store and pick them up as well. M. Bockelman said.

He was convicted of domestic violence assault in Washington state’s Pierce County in 2008 and was under orders to have no contact with the victim and not to possess a weapon or ammunition.

Tilmon was initially charged in Marion County Circuit Court with burglary and firearms offense. He was released from the county jail in March 2022 due to overcrowding and was placed on county pretrial supervision. When he did not return to meet with the pre-trial officer, a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to court records.

More than a year later, he was taken into custody again following his arrest in June 2023 in Pierce County, Washington. The U.S. Attorney’s Office subsequently opened a federal investigation against Tilmon.

As part of the plea agreement, the federal firearm theft charge was dismissed.

Tilmon remained in custody shortly after his second arrest. Prosecutors argued his criminal history included violence, lying to police and gun possession. His previous convictions include burglary, theft, domestic violence-related assault and harassment and making false statements to police. Court records also show he had a history of opioid use.

Defense attorney Kara A. Sagi and prosecutors jointly recommended a 2-year prison sentence. Tilmon will receive credit for time served since July 2023, his attorney said.

Sagi said the past year and nine months have been his longest period of sobriety and that he is “extremely amenable to rehab.” Tilmon had suffered two devastating losses, including his father and brother, who died of drug overdoses in 2009.

“This is not a path he wants to follow,” he said.

“I just want to be done with this, get out and go to treatment,” Tilmon, who is being held at the federal prison in Sheridan, told the judge.

The judge will recommend that he serve the remainder of his prison sentence at a federal medical facility in Missouri.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice issues. Reach him at 503-221-8212, [email protected], follow at X @maxoregonianor on LinkedIn.

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