Sanford man sentenced for conning two Maine gun dealers
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A Sanford man provided false information while making gun purchases at two Maine firearms dealers.
A Sanford man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for providing false information to two Maine firearms dealers while making gun purchases.
U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby sentenced Allen Sinclair Bowman, 26, to 18 months in prison and 18 months of supervised release. Bowman pleaded guilty in August and had sought a sentence of 12 months incarceration and three years of supervised release.
Over a two-day spree in 2018, he purchased a total 10 pistols from a Cabela’s sporting goods store in Scarborough and from Southern Maine Firearms in Sanford, according to court documents. While making three separate purchases, Bowman responded “Yes” to questions on a federal form asking if he was purchasing the firearms for himself.
During an interview with police the following day, Nov. 2, 2018, Bowman admitted to purchasing the weapons, as well as an 11th one, and said he was building a gun collection.
In fact, he was buying the guns for a drug dealer in Massachusetts in order to settle a debt. It is against federal law to provide false information to federal firearm licensees when purchasing firearms.
In October 2018, the FBI conducted 9,300 background checks for gun purchases in Maine, and 7,800 in November 2018. The checks, required for purchases from federally licensed dealers and widely used to estimate gun sales, have skyrocketed in number during the pandemic. Last month, there were over 12,000 in Maine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Sanford Police Department investigated the Bowman case as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.
The nationwide program brings together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders and others to address violent crime. PSN is coordinated by the U.S. attorneys’ offices in the 94 federal judicial districts throughout the states and territories.
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