LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: Johnathan Marcum

  • Dorian LaCourse, 66, of Milford a former Ohio police chief sentenced for illegally trafficking 200 fully automatic machine guns

    Dorian LaCourse, 66, of Milford a former Ohio police chief sentenced for illegally trafficking 200 fully automatic machine guns

    INDIANAPOLIS – Dorian LaCourse, 66, of Milford, Ohio, was sentenced on June 2 to 3 years’ probation, including 6 months home detention for conspiracy and making false statements. LaCourse is the former Chief of Police in the Village of Addyston, Ohio. Two federally licensed firearms dealers in Indiana were his coconspirators, Johnathan Marcum, 34, of Laurel, Indiana, and Christopher Petty, 58, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, previously pleaded guilty in separate cases to participating in the same conspiracy and will be sentenced later this year.

    According to court documents, LaCourse, Marcum, and Petty, illegally exploited a law enforcement exception to the federal ban on the possession or transfer of fully automatic machine guns. As Chief of Police, LaCourse signed multiple “demonstration letters” falsely stating that the Village of Addyston Police Department was interested in purchasing various types of machine guns, including military-grade weapons, and asking that Marcum and or Petty give the demonstration. Marcum and Petty then sent the letters to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to obtain the weapons. Addyston is a village in southwestern Ohio of approximately 1,000 residents. LaCourse was the village’s only full-time police officer.

    LaCourse also placed direct orders for German-made machine guns that were purported to be paid for by the Police Department. In fact, the purchases were fully funded by Marcum and Petty and intended to bypass restrictions on the importation of such weapons by anyone other than the police or the military.

    The conspirators purchased or caused the importation of approximately 200 fully automatic machine guns. LaCourse received over $11,500 from the gun dealers for his role in the scheme.

    The Addyston Police Department was never authorized to purchase any of the machine guns, and the Indiana gun dealers never provided any demonstrations of machine guns to the police department. Instead, the gun dealers resold the machine guns at a significant profit. In some instances, a gun dealer resold illegally acquired machine guns for five or six times the purchase price. The conspirators purchased or caused the importation of approximately 200 fully automatic machine guns. LaCourse received over $11,500 from the gun dealers for his role in the scheme.

    “Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect our communities and uphold the law, and the public has a right to expect police powers are used for the public good,” stated Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Instead, the defendant sold his badge to facilitate a criminal machine gun trafficking conspiracy. With heartbreaking regularity, we see the carnage that criminals can inflict on our communities with weapons of war. Today’s sentence demonstrates that officers who violate the public’s trust with utter disregard for the public’s safety will be held accountable.”

    “LaCourse committed an egregious betrayal of the public’s trust by engaging in this machine gun trafficking scheme,” stated Travis S. Riddle, Acting Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “I hope that this sentence serves as an example to anyone else out there who might be tempted to betray their oath of office and their responsibility to their community.”

    The ATF investigated the case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. As part of the sentence, Judge Barker ordered that the defendant pay a $11,800 fine. Over 100 illegally obtained machine guns, 52,500 rounds of ammunition, and over $6,000 in proceeds of the crime seized from LaCourse’s office desk will be forfeited to the United States.

  • Milford, Ohio man Indicted in Machine Gun Scheme

    Milford, Ohio man Indicted in Machine Gun Scheme

    Allegedly conspired with two Indiana gun dealers to acquire over 200 fully automatic weapons and re-sell them at a profit

    One of those guns was an M2 .50 caliber belt-fed heavy machine gun, which according to the Indictment, is a vehicle- or ship-mounted weapon that is effective against lightly armored vehicles and low-flying aircraft.

    Indianapolis – Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress announced on Friday that Dorian LaCourse, 65, of Milford, Ohio, was indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in a scheme to use his position as Chief of Police for the Addyston Police Department in Addyston, Ohio, to help two federally licensed firearms dealers in Indiana acquire hundreds of machine guns. LaCourse was indicted on charges of conspiracy and making false statements to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). 

    Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress

    Childress also announced today that the two Indiana gun dealers, Johnathan Marcum, 33, of Laurel, Indiana, and Christopher Petty, 57, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, have been charged with conspiracy for their roles in the machine gun scheme.

    “Federal laws regulating the purchase, transfer or possession of firearms exist to promote public safety,” said Childress. “When people violate those laws, they unacceptably threaten the safety of others. This office will vigorously pursue those who commit federal firearms offenses, regardless of who they are. We expect better from our public servants, and when police officers violate the law, they can expect to be investigated and prosecuted like any other citizen. I am confident that LaCourse’s criminal choices do not represent the vast majority of law enforcement in this country.”

    According to the Indictment, LaCourse and the two Indiana firearms dealers exploited a law enforcement exception to the general federal ban on fully automatic machine guns. The Village of Addyston, Ohio, has approximately 1,000 residents, and the Addyston Police Department has up to 10 officers, most of whom were part-time. However, according to the Indictment, between 2015 and 2019, LaCourse signed multiple letters and other official documents as Chief of Police falsely claiming to the ATF and others that the Addyston Police Department was interested in purchasing or receiving demonstrations of machine guns.

    The Addyston Police Department and Village of Addyston had no intention of purchasing machine guns or receiving demonstrations of machine guns. Instead, these allegedly false statements were a pretense to gain ATF approval for Marcum and Petty to acquire machine guns, which they re-sold to other federally licensed firearms dealers at a profit—of which LaCourse got a portion. According to the Indictment, LaCourse received 11 checks payable to him totaling over $11,500.

    In four instances, LaCourse falsely claimed on ATF forms and other documents that the Addyston Police Department was the actual purchaser of machine guns, including two bulk purchases of a total of 18 guns from German manufacturer Heckler & Koch. On one document required by the German government, which pertained to the importation of the machine guns into the United States, LaCourse is alleged to have falsely stated that the Addyston Police Department was the “end-user” of the guns. In reality, according to the Indictment, Marcum purchased the guns for the purpose of re-selling them—Marcum paid for them, picked them up from the Addyston Police Department when they arrived, and promptly re-sold them at a profit of over $8,000 each.

    In all, the Indictment alleges that through their scheme, LaCourse’s false statements and representations induced the ATF to approve the purchase or importation of approximately 200 fully automatic machine guns. The types of guns acquired ranged from smaller submachine guns to automatic assault rifles, to belt-fed machine guns for military use. One of those guns was an M2 .50 caliber belt-fed heavy machine gun, which according to the Indictment, is a vehicle- or ship-mounted weapon that is effective against lightly armored vehicles and low-flying aircraft. 

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

    “No matter who you are, it is a crime to make false statements to acquire firearms and allow them into the hands of those who cannot legally possess them,” stated Roland H. Herndon, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “LaCourse, Marcum, and Petty all used their positions and knowledge of the system to illegally transfer fully automatic weapons for profit, with no regard for any potential impact that might have on our communities.”

    According to Assistant United States Attorneys Nick Linder and William L. McCoskey, who are prosecuting this case for the government, LaCourse faces up to 5 or 10 years in prison on each charge if indicted and convicted. Marcum and Petty each face up to 5 years.

    An indictment is merely a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in court.