Grants Pass Gun Dealer Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Gun Sales

MEDFORD, Ore. – On May 18, 2017, United States District Court Judge Ann Aiken sentenced Wilson Lee Clow, Jr., 68, of Grants Pass, Oregon, to two years in federal prison for illegal gun sales. Upon his release from prison, Clow will be on supervised release for three years. A federal jury previously found Clow guilty on three counts of selling a firearm to a felon and two counts of making false statements during firearms sales during a three-day trial ending June 29, 2016.

According to court documents, Clow was a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) who owned and operated a Grants Pass gun shop called 2nd Amendment Guns. In 2012, he sold high-caliber handguns to a known felon and falsified the paperwork related to the transactions. During these sales, Clow advised the felon that if law enforcement caught him with one of the firearms, the felon should tell the officers he purchased it at a garage sale. Clow also sold firearms from his private collection to avoid federally required paperwork and maintained a list of firearms for other felons who might be interested in purchasing them.

"Federally licensed firearms dealers are expected to be a first line of defense in preventing guns from reaching the hands of criminals," said Billy J. Williams, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. "This sentence sends a message that gun dealers who violate the law and fail to uphold their duties to the community will be arrested, prosecuted and held accountable for their actions."

"The illicit trafficking of firearms remains ATF's highest national priority," said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Darek Pleasants. "Mr. Clow's willingness to operate outside the law, despite being a duly-licensed Federal Firearms Licensee, directly put his fellow Americans at risk."

The ATF Seattle Field Division’s area of responsibility includes the District of Oregon.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and was prosecuted by Nathan J. Lichvarcik and Amy Potter, Assistant United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon.