Prosecutors say Wisconsin police chief helped California gun dealers’ illegal ammo import scheme

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two California brothers could each face up to five years in prison for allegedly recruiting a small-town Wisconsin police chief to help them illegally import nearly half-a-million armor-piercing rounds into the U.S.

Jacob and Darin Dowd ran a gun dealership in Vacaville, California, federal prosecutors say in online court records. In June 2021, Jacob Dowd submitted an application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fires and Explosives to import about 490,000 armor-piercing rounds from Smart Energeo Sistemi, an arms company based in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Federal law generally bars importation of such ammunition but makes an exception for law enforcement agencies. The brothers’ application stated that the ammunition was for “law enforcement sales,” according to prosecutors. It included a purchase order for 1.5 million rounds from James Bushey, then chief of police in the Town of Linn, a community of about 2,700 people in southeastern Wisconsin.

That purchase order apparently piqued investigators’ interest and the ATF ultimately stopped the importation. “TLPD is a small police department,” prosecutors wrote. “It had no intention to purchase the … ammunition, had no funds to purchase the ammunition, and had no legitimate use for that ammunition.”

Prosecutors allege that the Dowds approached Bushey using a Wisconsin resident as a middleman. The court documents identify that person only as J.W., but news outlets have reported the person was one of Bushey’s former roommates.

The brothers told the chief that if he signed a fake purchase order backing up their import application, they would give him money to buy squad cars and other equipment that would help advance his career, prosecutors allege. Bushey agreed, creating a fraudulent order on department letterhead.

A search warrant stated that the town board signed off on the deal after Bushey told members that the Dowds would donate the ammunition to the police department, Wisconsin Pubic Radio reported. Bushey didn’t tell the board that he would receive payments for submitting the fraudulent purchase order, however.

The brothers intended to sell the ammunition to “other buyers,” prosecutors allege in the court documents, which don’t disclose the alleged buyers’ names but also don’t suggest the ammunition was meant to be used in any sort of attack.

Darin Dowd was charged with conspiracy last July and pleaded guilty in October. He has yet to be sentenced. Jacob Dowd was charged with conspiracy last week and has agreed to plead guilty during a May 19 hearing, according to an online plea agreement and court schedule. They each face up to five years in federal prison.

Neither Jacob Dowd’s attorney, Julian Linnen, nor his brother’s attorney, Paul Jannuzzo, immediately responded to Monday emails seeking comment.

Bushey has not been charged. The Associated Press could not find a phone listing or other contact information for him or his attorney, if he has one. A message left on a possible LinkedIn account for him wasn’t immediately returned.

Linn’s interim police chief, Graham Gunyon, said Bushey left the department of his own accord. He was replaced by Jon Albrecht in March 2022, according to the department’s Facebook page, but Albrecht left in March to become chief in nearby Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

Gunyon declined to provide contact information for Bushey. He also declined to comment on the former chief’s alleged role in the importation scheme or what Bushey told the town board. The board’s chairperson and four other members didn’t immediately respond to Monday messages seeking comment.

Steve Caballero, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Milwaukee, declined to comment when asked if Bushey was under investigation. An FBI spokesperson didn’t immediately reply to a message.