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A former Antelope County deputy has been for making a false statement last year to a special agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Jeffrey Treu, 63, was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, a $1,000 fine and a $100 special assessment for his conviction of making a false, fictitious or fraudulent statement, by senior United States District Judge Laurie Smith Camp last week, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Treu pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement with US attorney Joseph Kelly. The agreement was signed by Treu and his counsel, Stuart Dornan of Omaha, in January and by assistant US attorney Matt Lierman, in March.

In exchange for his guilty plea, the US attorneys agreed not to prosecute Treu for firearms-related crimes.

After Treu left his job with the Antelope County Sheriff’s Department in 2007, he failed to return an automatic weapon that had been issued to him in his law enforcement capacity. The firearm was not discovered missing from inventory until early in 2019, when Sheriff Bob Moore contacted ATF to investigate.

According to facts established in the agreement, several witnesses came forward to report Treu had bragged about keeping the firearm and having a “machine gun he liked to shoot.”

Treu was questioned by ATF agents and Nebraska State Patrol officers. He initially told investigators he had returned the weapon to a former Antelope County deputy, who was since deceased. Treu admitted he “may still have the upper (non-firearm) portion of the weapon at his Oakdale farm, but not the lower registered machine gun. He later admitted to lying and led investigators to the weapon in a bedroom of his apartment.

The felony charge carried the potential for up to five years imprisonment and fine of up to $250,000, along with the special assessment and post-release supervision. Joint recommendation, per the plea deal, was for “base offense-level, specific characteristics.”

Treu, of Dodge, served as Wisner police chief for a short time last year, resigning in May 2019, after it was discovered he lied about serving in the US Marine Corp. His law enforcement certification was revoked over the incident.