A convicted Vermont firearms trafficker connected to the shooting of a Springfield police officer will spend over three years in federal prison.
Stephen Loewe pleaded guilty to the straw purchases of around 20 firearms and also admitted to robbing three Vermont banks.
Authorities said one of the guns was later recovered at the scene of a police shooting in Springfield last year.
“The straw-purchasing of firearms and intentional provision of them to drug traffickers is an exceedingly serious crime,” stated Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher. “A key aspect of federal firearm background checks is to confirm the person purchasing the firearm is the intended recipient. Straw-purchasing intentionally circumvents this safeguard by allowing prohibited people to possess guns, and arming criminals with firearms that cannot be traced back to them as purchasers.”
Prosecutors said Loewe traded those guns for crack cocaine.
(Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
Photo: Eric Lee / Getty Images News / Getty Images