Springfield man sentenced for straw purchases of firearms, three bank robberies in 2024

Stephen Loewe, 43, of Springfield was sentenced on Friday, Aug. 29, by Chief U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss in Burlington to a term of 45 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

Loewe previously pleaded guilty to straw purchasing 19 firearms between December 2023 and May 2024, and admitted as part of his plea that he robbed the Claremont Savings Bank in Springfield on Aug. 13, 2024, the M&T Bank in Springfield on Aug. 13, 2024, and the M&T Bank in Putney on Aug. 14, 2024.

According to court records, Loewe purchased the 19 firearms at a firearm store in New Hampshire, falsely stating that the firearms were being purchased for his own possession. Instead, Loewe provided the firearms to another person. Eighteen of the firearms were handguns that Loewe provided to his drug dealer in exchange for crack cocaine. At the time he gave him the firearms, Loewe knew his drug dealer was prohibited from possessing firearms due to the drug dealer’s criminal history.

One of the firearms trafficked by Loewe was subsequently recovered during a search of a drug den on Reed Street in Springfield. A second firearm trafficked by Loewe was recovered at the scene of the shooting of a police officer in Springfield, Mass. Loewe was arrested on July 31, 2024 after stealing a vehicle and leading police officers on a chase. After he was released from state custody, Loewe proceeded to commit the three bank robberies. Loewe admitted after his arrest for the bank robberies that he used the money he obtained from the robberies to purchase crack cocaine.

“The straw-purchasing of firearms and intentional provision of them to drug traffickers is an exceedingly serious crime,” stated acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher. “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.”