JACKSONVILLE – U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Timothy Lewis Crowe, 54, of Orange Park, with making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer during the attempted purchase of a firearm. If convicted, Crowe faces up to five years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Crowe completed an ATF Form 4473 during his attempted purchase of a firearm from Best Deal Gun and Pawn, a federally licensed firearms dealer. Crowe indicated on the required paperwork that he didn’t have a history of mental illness. The indictment alleges that was a false statement because Crowe was previously adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity in two Clay County felony cases.

In 2017, Crowe was declared not guilty by reason of insanity of aggravated assault, robbery, aggravated battery, burglary to an auto, burglary of a dwelling and criminal mischief with an estimated $20,000 in property damage after he became agitated by his former son-in-law and a woman while working on the victim’s motorcycle.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office found Crowe naked and hiding in a tool shed behind the residence.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was uncovered through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. All NICS denials are reported to federal law enforcement and are reviewed daily for potential criminal prosecution. Federal law makes it a felony offense to make a false statement to a firearms dealer when trying to buy a gun.  

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Talbot is prosecuting it.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and to make our neighborhoods safer.

On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent

violence from occurring, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.