Felons Caught with Guns

A Windham couple is facing serious consequences for their involvement in a firearms trafficking case. Theodore ‘Ted’ Thomes, 55, and his wife, Renee Thomes, 51, both formerly of Windham, Maine, now of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, pleaded guilty this week, in U.S. District Court, to firearms charges.

According to evidence presented at the plea hearing, prior to July 2011, Renee Thomes acquired several handguns belonging to a Windham neighbor for whom the couple served as caretakers. In December 2011, Ted Thomes, a convicted felon who had previously been convicted in Maine for being a felon in possession of firearms, took the handguns to the home of another neighbor.

In June 2012, Renee Thomes retrieved the handguns and illegally gave them to a New Hampshire auctioneer. The evidence presented in court painted a picture of a coordinated effort by the couple to traffic firearms.

Ted Thomes faces up to 10 years in prison. Renee Thomes faces up to five years in prison. Both face a $250,000 fine. They will be sentenced after completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the Windham Police Department, the Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Darcie N. McElwee is handling the case.

U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced the guilty plea in a statement. The case highlights the importance of cracking down on firearms trafficking in the region.

Contact Assistant United States Attorney Darcie N. McElwee at (207) 780-3257 for more information about the case.

RELATED: Indiana Felons Get Decades For Illegal Gun Possession

RELATED: South Dakota Felon’s Rifle Lands Him 2.5 Years Inside

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