Broussard couple found guilty of dealing firearms without license

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – A Broussard couple was found guilty on federal firearms charges stemming back to 2019.

Jeremiah Micah Deare, 37, Sarah Elaine Fogle, 30, were found guilty of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. The jury heard from over 20 witnesses and numerous trial exhibits demonstrating the illegal sale and attempted illegal sale of hundreds of firearms out of their residence and at gun shows as an unlicensed business. The couple was found to have been dealing firearms without following applicable laws, including the required background checks on their customers. 

The couple was originally indicted on the following charges:

• Conspiring to deal firearms without a license
• Making false statements in records required to be kept by a licensed firearms dealer
• Failing to file sales reports in connection with their firearms business

The 246 firearms seized from the couple’s home were brought into court for the jury to inspect, and the indictment also seeks forfeiture of a total of 619 firearms which were involved in the commission of these offenses.

Testimony and evidence revealed that Deare was the owner of Dave’s Gunshop and that the couple kept firearms at their residence without logging them out of Dave’s store inventory and would travel with the firearms to gun shows conducted at various locations in Louisiana and several other states. They sold firearms at gun shows to non-Louisiana residents for which no background checks were ever completed. This resulted in the sales of firearms to people prohibited by law from possessing or purchasing firearms.

Sentencing will be held on April 2, 2024. Deare faces a maximum of 5 years in prison on counts 1 and 2, and 1 year max on count 3 of the Indictment. Fogle faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison on count 1 of the Indictment. Each defendant also faces up to 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count.