Owner of Bowman’s Gun Shop Failed to Properly Secure His Store, Despite Two Burglaries Where 58 Guns Were Stolen and Trafficked, Putting New Yorkers at Risk
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against Bowman’s Gun Shop, a gun store in St. Lawrence County, and its owner, Timothy Bowman, for violating New York’s gun safety laws, storing guns and ammunition in an unsafe manner, and failing to properly secure the gun shop, all of which endangered New Yorkers. The lax security at Bowman’s Gun Shop led to two burglaries, where on one occasion, burglars were able to enter through an unlocked door, and in a separate incident, through an open window. In total, 58 guns and dozens of boxes of ammunition were stolen and some of the stolen guns were trafficked to New York City, Philadelphia, and even internationally to Barbados. Despite these burglaries, Mr. Bowman has persistently violated New York’s gun safety laws and 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, properly store firearms, and install and maintain a security alarm system from a licensed alarm system operator, all of which Mr. Bowman failed to do. For these violations of New York’s gun safety laws, Attorney General James is seeking to stop Bowman from owning or operating a gun shop in New York and collect disgorgement and penalties.
“Irresponsible and inadequate security at gun shops is dangerous for all New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. “New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in their communities, and gun shop owners like Timothy Bowman, who repeatedly violate our gun safety laws and make it easy for thieves to steal and traffic guns, put New Yorkers at risk. Gun shop owners have a responsibility to maintain the utmost security in and around their stores to prevent theft and gun trafficking. Mr. Bowman violated that responsibility and today we are taking action to hold him accountable and protect New Yorkers.”
Bowman’s Gun Shop is located in Gouverneur, New York and has been operating since 2014. In April 2019, Mr. Bowman’s license to sell pistols and his permit to possess pistols were suspended by the St. Lawrence County Court for six months and one year, respectively. His license and permit were suspended after an investigation by the New York State Police (NYSP), during which Mr. Bowman admitted that he had knowingly received two handguns from someone who he knew possessed them illegally and that he made false entries about these two handguns into his legally required logbooks.
While his license and permit were suspended, Mr. Bowman continued to operate his store irresponsibly. In September 2019, burglars broke into Bowman’s Gun Shop and stole two shotguns, three rifles, two pistols, a BB gun, over 50 boxes of ammunition, and cash. The burglars entered through an exterior door that was unlocked and then forced open an interior door. Following this first burglary, Mr. Bowman did not take adequate steps to improve security at the store.
A year later, in September 2020, another group of burglars broke into Bowman’s Gun Shop. This time, the burglars stole 28 pistols, 12 revolvers, nine rifles—including four AR-style rifles—and two shotguns. The burglars were able to enter the store because Mr. Bowman had left a window partially open when the store was otherwise closed. Although Bowman’s Gun Shop had an alarm system in place at the time of the second burglary, Mr. Bowman admitted that he neglected to arm the system “three quarters of the time,” including on the night of the second burglary. In investigating the second burglary, NYSP were repeatedly contacted by other police departments that had recovered guns in the course of their criminal investigations that had been stolen from Bowman’s Gun Shop. Guns stolen in the 2020 burglary were recovered by authorities in New York City, Philadelphia, and Barbados. Moreover, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) recovered an additional gun that was stolen but was not reported as stolen by Bowman’s, as required by federally licensed gun dealers.
In October 2023, NYSP inspected Bowman’s Gun Shop and concluded that it did not comply with legal safety requirements for gun stores. In New York, all gun stores are required to:
- Implement a security plan;
- Secure all guns after business hours;
- Store ammunition separately from guns and out of reach of customers;
- Maintain recordings of security video footage from the store for a minimum of two years; and
- Maintain backups of paper records.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks to ban Bowman from owning or operating a gun store in New York and to obtain a court order requiring Mr. Bowman to comply with all of New York’s gun safety laws. Attorney General James also seeks to collect disgorgement, penalties, and fees.
Attorney General James has been a national leader in gun safety. Earlier this month, Attorney General James successfully defended New York’s firearms accountability law, which allows the state and localities to hold firearm manufacturers and sellers accountable for injuries from gun violence that result from misconduct in the sale and marketing of firearms. In May, Attorney General James fined Walmart for shipping illegal realistic toy guns to New York. In July 2024, Attorney General James urged the Supreme Court to uphold a federal rule that regulates ghost guns like other firearms. In March 2024, Attorney General James secured $7.8 million against gun retailer Indie Guns for illegally selling ghost gun components in New York. Since taking office, Attorney General James has removed more than 9,000 guns out of New York communities through gun buybacks.
This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Watertown Regional Office Deanna Nelson, Special Counsel Molly Thomas-Jensen, Special Counsel Monica Hanna, and Assistant Attorney General Martha Grieco. The Watertown Regional Office is part of the Division of Regional Offices led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Jill Faber and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
