LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — Two Indiana gun dealers and a former Ohio police chief pleaded guilty in a case involving illegally trafficking fully automatic machine guns.
Dorian LaCourse, 66, of Milford, Ohio pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and making false statements. The firearms dealers, Johnathan Marcum, 34, of Laurel, Indiana, and Christopher Petty, 58, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, previously pled guilty in separate cases to participating in the same conspiracy.
The three exploited a machine gun exception to the federal ban on machine guns for police agencies and the military.
LaCourse claimed to want a machine gun demonstration from the dealers for the Village of Addyston Police Department. He claimed the department was interested in purchasing various types of machine guns — even military-grade weapons. Addyston has about 1,000 people and LaCourse is its only officer.
Marcum and Petty then sent the letters to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to get permission to order the weapons. The guns, which were supposed to be paid for by the police department, were actually purchased by Marcum and Petty. The gun dealers then sold the weapons for a profit — sometimes five or six times the purchase price.
In all, the three were responsible for purchasing or importing 200 fully automatic machine guns.
LaCourse received over $11,500 from the gun dealers for his role in the scheme. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison at sentencing.
Marcum and Petty have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and each faces up to 5 years in federal prison when sentenced.