James Gowda (born 1942), also known as Jim Gowda, a firearms dealer for more than 20 years was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 1999 on charges of selling up to 10,000 handguns to people who did not live in Colorado, selling a semi-automatic weapon to a felon, and dealing guns without a license. He was indicted with Waldemar Drwall, who was an associate of Gowda. It was described as the "largest gun-trafficking case" (as of 2000) that the agency knew of by Chris Eastburn, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Denver office inspector.[1][2] It is estimated that criminals used hundreds of guns purchased from Gowda in the commission of their crimes, according to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.[3]
Gowda was reported to have only had a "handful" of federal sales forms for the sale of firearms at gun shows. He claimed that he was selling guns from his personal collection. Gowda sold thousands of firearms at gun shows in various states, including the state of Colorado, mostly without background check paperwork. He also sold guns from his suburban Denver home, which he licensed as a gun business.[1] Under federal law, every firearm dealer's customer is required to have a background check. Gowda performed background checks with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on only 15 customers between 1994 and 1996 and, after he was indicted by a federal grand jury, no more than 10 gun customers between January 1999 and June 2000. The CBI conducted all Colorado background checks of gun buyers except for one four-month period in 1999.[1][2]
Gowda pleaded guilty and in a plea agreement agreed "to cooperate fully with the government's investigation" into his gun sales and forfeit 225 guns seized from his house in 1996. The government agreed to recommended a 10 to 16-month prison term at a January sentencing date. In addition, the recommendation was to include a provision that half of the time could be served in detention in his house.[4]
Gowda filed a suit with the Colorado District Court in Jefferson County requesting that his sentence be vacated and/or an illegal sentence corrected, which was denied by presiding Federal District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel.[5]