A Lafayette couple was sentenced to time in federal prison Wednesday after they were convicted following an investigation into their gun shop.
Jeremiah Micah Deare, 40, was sentenced to roughly eight years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and Sarah Elaine Fogle, 33, was sentenced to roughly five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
The duo was convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to deal firearms without a license, making false statements in records required to be kept by a licensed firearms dealer and failing to run required background checks in connection after a nearly weeklong trial in November, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Brandon B. Brown’s office said in a statement.
Deare and Fogle were sentenced by U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr. on Wednesday.
The charges stem from a 2019 compliance inspection of Deare’s business, Dave’s Gunshop, a warning conference after multiple violations were found and the couple’s subsequent re-offense, Brown’s office said.
On Aug. 13, 2019, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted a compliance inspection on Dave’s Gunshop and found the couple failed to complete a background check on a gun sale, failed to record gun sales and purchases almost 130 times, inaccurately completed ATF forms and had missing firearms, among other offenses.
Deare and Fogle were given a warning in a September 2019 conference with ATF agents in Baton Rouge and Deare, as the party responsible for the business’s federal firearms license, had to sign a form acknowledging he was responsible for following applicable regulations while conducting business.
After the meeting with ATF agents, Deare and Fogle failed to bring their business in line with regulations, selling guns out of their home and selling guns unlicensed at gun shows. Agents seized 246 guns from the couple’s home and sought the forfeiture of over 600 more guns after the duo was indicted, Brown’s office said.
Investigators determined the couple purchased large numbers of guns and ammunition from estate sales and other venues without documenting the purchases and would take guns that were brought to Dave’s for sale on consignment and sell them elsewhere, also without documentation.
More than once guns were sold to buyers prohibited from possessing firearms by law because background checks weren’t completed, Brown’s office said.
“These two defendants are part of fueling the violent crime problem across the country by selling to prohibited persons,” said ATF New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson.
“They have shown a reckless disregard for the federal laws and responsibilities associated with the privilege of possessing a federal firearms license. The sentence imposed sends a message to the community that dishonorable individuals like this will be held accountable as we work to keep our neighborhoods safe as a top priority for ATF.”