Prosecutors say Wisconsin police chief helped California gun dealers'
illegal ammo import scheme
[April 28, 2026]
By TODD RICHMOND
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.
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In this Jan. 26, 2013, file photo, handguns are displayed on a
vendor's table at an annual gun show in Albany, N.Y. (AP
Photo/Philip Kamrass, File
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.
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