AG sues gun shop after stolen firearms were trafficked to NYC, Philly, Barbados

Gouverneur, N.Y. — A St. Lawrence County gun shop is being sued for failing to secure its inventory after thieves stole and sold nearly 60 guns and ammunition in two burglaries, state officials said.

Thieves were able to enter Bowman’s Gun Shop, at 337 County Route 11 in Gouverneur, two separate times: Once through an unlocked door and again through an open window, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said.

Burglars stole 58 guns and dozens of boxes of ammunition. Some of the stolen guns were trafficked to New York City, Philadelphia, and internationally to Barbados, she said.

Now the Attorney General’s Office is suing the gun shop and its owner, Timothy Bowman, for violating New York’s gun safety laws. The office wants to stop Bowman from owning or operating a gun shop in New York and to return money the shop made improperly and pay fines for violating the law.

James said in a release the shop stored guns and ammunition in an unsafe manner and failed to properly secure the gun shop.

James said despite the burglaries, Bowman still has not taken adequate steps to improve security at the store to prevent additional theft and trafficking.

New York law requires gun dealers to have a security plan for their store, install and maintain a security alarm system from a licensed alarm system provider and properly store firearms. James said Bowman failed to meet these requirements.

In 2019, St. Lawrence County Court suspended Bowman’s license to sell pistols for six months and his permit to possess pistols for one year after a New York State Police investigation. During the investigation, Bowman admitted he knowingly accepted two handguns from someone who wasn’t legally allowed to have them and recorded false information about the guns in his required logbooks, officials said.

While his license and permit were suspended, Bowman continued to run his gun shop irresponsibly, officials said.

In September 2019, burglars broke into Bowman’s Gun Shop and stole two shotguns, three rifles, two pistols, a BB gun and more than 50 boxes of ammunition and cash, according to offiicals. The thieves got in through an unlocked exterior door and then forced open an interior door, they said.

After the break-in, Bowman failed to take proper steps to improve the store’s security, officials said.

A year later, in September 2020, another group of burglars broke into the gun shop and stole 28 pistols, 12 revolvers, nine rifles—including four AR-style rifles—and two shotguns, officials said. Investigators said the burglars got in through a window Bowman had left partially open while the store was closed.

Although Bowman’s Gun Shop had an alarm system during the second break-in, Bowman admitted he failed to set it about 75% of the time, including the night of the burglary, officials said. During the investigation, state police were contacted by other departments that had recovered guns stolen from the shop.

Firearms taken in the 2020 break in were later found in New York City, Philadelphia and even Barbados. Federal agents also recovered a stolen gun that Bowman never reported missing, as required by law for licensed gun dealers.

Bowman’s Gun Shop has been operating since 2014.

Staff writer Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at dstevenson@syracuse.com

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