Michael P. Drescher Acting United States Attorney for the District of Vermont | U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont
Stephen Loewe, 43, of Springfield, Vermont, has been sentenced to 45 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to straw purchasing 19 firearms and robbing three banks. The sentence was handed down on August 29, 2025, by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss.
Court records show that between December 2023 and May 2024, Loewe purchased the firearms from a store in New Hampshire while falsely claiming they were for his own use. Instead, he provided the weapons to another individual. Eighteen of the guns were handguns given to his drug dealer in exchange for crack cocaine. At the time of these transactions, Loewe knew his drug dealer was legally barred from possessing firearms due to a criminal record.
Authorities recovered one of the trafficked firearms during a search at a drug den on Reed Street in Springfield, Vermont. Another firearm linked to Loewe was found at the scene where a police officer was shot in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Loewe’s arrest occurred on July 31, 2024, after he stole a vehicle and led law enforcement officers on a pursuit. Following his release from state custody, Loewe committed three bank robberies: two at banks in Springfield—Claremont Savings Bank and M&T Bank—on August 13, 2024; and one at an M&T Bank branch in Putney on August 14, 2024. After being taken into custody for these robberies, Loewe admitted using the stolen money to buy crack cocaine.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commented: “The straw-purchasing of firearms and intentional provision of them to drug traffickers is an exceedingly serious crime. A key aspect of federal firearm background checks is to confirm the person purchasing the firearm is the intended recipient. Straw-purchasing intentionally circumvents this safeguard by allowing prohibited people to possess guns, and arming criminals with firearms that cannot be traced back to them as purchasers.”
Drescher also recognized several agencies for their roles in investigating this case: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Vermont State Police; Springfield Police Department; Chester Police Department; Weathersfield Police Department; Bellows Falls Police Department; and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corinne Smith and Jonathan Ophardt prosecuted the case. Assistant Federal Defender Steven Barth represented Loewe.
