Related Federal Cases
Former Ohio Police Chief and Two Indiana Gun Dealers Plead Guilty in Machine Gun Conspiracy
INDIANAPOLIS – In a shocking turn of events, a former Ohio police chief and two Indiana gun dealers have pleaded guilty to their roles in a massive conspiracy to traffic over 200 fully automatic machine guns.
Dorian LaCourse, 66, of Milford, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and making false statements. LaCourse is the former Chief of Police in the Village of Addyston, Ohio. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for using his law enforcement position to help two federally licensed firearms dealers in Indiana acquire and resell the machine guns using false documents.
LaCourse was joined in the conspiracy by Johnathan Marcum, 34, of Laurel, Indiana, and Christopher Petty, 58, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Marcum and Petty previously pleaded guilty in separate cases to participating in the same conspiracy.
According to court documents, LaCourse, Marcum, and Petty 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. The letters were sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to obtain the weapons.
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 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.
LaCourse pleaded guilty to conspiracy, making false statements in records maintained by a federal firearms licensee, and making false statements to the ATF. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Marcum and Petty have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and each faces up to 5 years in federal prison. Actual sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The ATF investigated the case, and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys James M. Warden and William L. McCoskey for their work on the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana is part of the Chicago Gun Trafficking Strike Force, which prioritizes the investigation and prosecution of gun trafficking crimes.
Defendant Information:
Defendant: Dorian LaCourse
Charges: Conspiracy, making false statements in records maintained by a federal firearms licensee, and making false statements to the ATF
City and State: Milford, Ohio
Exact Date: April 25, 2023
Sentence or Outcome: Pleaded guilty, faces up to 15 years in federal prison
Dollar Amounts: $11,500 received by LaCourse for his role in the scheme
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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