A Gloucester resident, Allen Dowell, 59, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon. The sentence will be served after he completes a five-year term handed down by the Commonwealth of Virginia earlier this year for related offenses.
Court documents show that after his adult son was arrested by the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) in August 2023, Dowell posted videos on social media threatening violence against deputies and their families if they were involved in his son’s arrest.
Authorities began investigating these threats and discovered several videos in which Dowell displayed a firearm and discussed growing marijuana at his home. As a previously convicted felon, Dowell is barred from having firearms or ammunition. On September 1, 2023, GCSO and Virginia State Police arrested him at his residence. Investigators found 20 firearms, about 1,000 rounds of ammunition, various firearm parts and accessories, suspected silencers or suppressors, and more than 400 marijuana plants.
“This case demonstrates how the convergence of multiple criminal acts heightens the danger to our communities,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “A convicted felon cultivating a Schedule I narcotic while stockpiling firearms and ammunition felt emboldened to threaten deputies and their families in retaliation for doing their jobs. This conduct is precisely why we remain committed to holding individuals like Allen Dowell accountable when they choose to disregard the law.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood added: “Today’s sentence sends a clear message: those who endanger our communities with illegal firearms and narcotics, and who attempt to intimidate law enforcement through threats, will be held fully accountable. We are committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe, and we will not tolerate violence, criminal activity, or efforts to undermine the safety of law enforcement.”
In January 2025, Dowell received a five-year sentence from the Circuit Court of Gloucester County for obstruction and resisting arrest by threat or force after barricading himself inside his home during an armed standoff with GCSO and state police on September 1, 2023. His federal prison term will begin once he completes this state sentence.
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter G. Osyf and Alyson C. Yates.
More information about this case can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia as well as through court records on PACER by searching Case No. 4:24-cr-62.
