GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A woman was sentenced to 21 months after lying on an ATF form to purchase firearms and providing them to a felon, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
Tonya Saine, also known as Tonya Bowles, 56, was found guilty of making a false and fictitious written statement to a licensed dealer of firearms and disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon in December 2022, DOJ said.
According to court documents, on Sept. 4, 2021, Saine traveled to the business premises of a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in Sevierville. While at the gun counter, she and a convicted felon looked at several firearms before picking a pistol and a rifle to purchase, according to the release.
Saine, who was not prohibited from buying a firearm, completed the required paperwork using her information and paid for the two firearms. According to DOJ, she also purchased a laser aiming device for the pistol.
Surveillance video from the FFL showed Saine at the gun counter handing the firearms to the felon who was accompanying her. After she completed the purchase, the felon left FFL while carrying one of the firearms, DOJ said.
Saine admitted that she had met the felon while she was a contract employee of the Tennessee Department of Correction and that the felon was incarcerated on a felony conviction at the prison where she had worked as a nurse. According to DOJ, she also admitted that she was in a relationship with the felon, knew he was a felon and that he had traveled to and from FFLs with her.
Law enforcement also recovered a text message from a cell phone that Saine sent the felon after she purchased the firearms that read, “I’ve got your gun and stuff in the house.”
According to DOJ, a witness testified that they saw the felon with the pistol and were able to recognize the firearm.
