On February 2, 2021 our home and small business were raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives - better known as the ATF.
My husband, Jeremiah Deare is - or was - the owner of Dave's Gun Shop here in Lafayette with a (still valid) FFL.
I answered the door to around seven rifles pointed at my head and was physically pulled out by a female agent. Other agents then proceeded to handcuff Jeremiah while he was still dressed in boxers and a t-shirt as it was 9:30 at night and we were already in bed.
Only after asking multiple times about why they were there and who they were was I able to receive the response that they were there on a warrant.
After the initial shock and terror subsided, I realized that one of the patches bore the letters 'ATF.'
Eventually, two agents spoke with me on our back patio, allowing me to read a very partial warrant - around 2-3 pages of it. In the warrant, it stated that written/recorded statements gave them probable cause. The actual probable cause was not listed.
Agents proceeded to remove almost every firearm from our home and business.
Around 11:00 pm, we were lucky enough to have an attorney arrive at our home at which point we realized that the warrant for the store was only for Suite B. This is also close to the time that the camera feed to the business was shut off.
The attorney and I headed to the shop to find agents in Suite D which was only accessible by either the outside door or an RFID protected firedoor. The lead agent at that location basically told me the warrant was for all of Dave's Gun Shop - but that isn't how warrants work - all areas to be searched must be listed.
As this matter is still ongoing, I cannot give too many further details, however, the ATF has successfully shuttered the doors on a long-standing, veteran owned local business.
There have been no charges filed, no arrests, and we still have not seen the complete warrant that would include the actual probable cause.
The magistrate that signed the warrant is now refusing to release it.
The ATF has subpoenaed many gun show promoters for their records regarding what shows we have attended - this makes it near impossible for us to attend shows even to sell ammunition or firearms accessories.
We are fortunate to be alive, that our dog, Remi is alive, and that none of our neighbors or their homes were shot by trigger-happy agents.
Unfortunately, we are left with few ways to earn a living as both of us are suffering from intense PTSD, anger, and overwhelming depression at the loss of our business, collection, and overall livelihood.
We are now in the long process of waiting for any possible news or information. The last communication we had from the ATF were two documents delivered to our house that informed us that our items had been forfeited and that we would essentially have to buy them back.
There are no words to describe our feelings about the situation as a whole; we have reached out to many elected officials to no avail.
Although we are able to cover most of our living expenses, we aren't sure how we will be able to fight this long-term as attorneys are expensive and there is no end in sight.
Thank you for reading and hopefully understanding,
Sarah and Jeremiah Deare
My husband, Jeremiah Deare is - or was - the owner of Dave's Gun Shop here in Lafayette with a (still valid) FFL.
I answered the door to around seven rifles pointed at my head and was physically pulled out by a female agent. Other agents then proceeded to handcuff Jeremiah while he was still dressed in boxers and a t-shirt as it was 9:30 at night and we were already in bed.
Only after asking multiple times about why they were there and who they were was I able to receive the response that they were there on a warrant.
After the initial shock and terror subsided, I realized that one of the patches bore the letters 'ATF.'
Eventually, two agents spoke with me on our back patio, allowing me to read a very partial warrant - around 2-3 pages of it. In the warrant, it stated that written/recorded statements gave them probable cause. The actual probable cause was not listed.
Agents proceeded to remove almost every firearm from our home and business.
Around 11:00 pm, we were lucky enough to have an attorney arrive at our home at which point we realized that the warrant for the store was only for Suite B. This is also close to the time that the camera feed to the business was shut off.
The attorney and I headed to the shop to find agents in Suite D which was only accessible by either the outside door or an RFID protected firedoor. The lead agent at that location basically told me the warrant was for all of Dave's Gun Shop - but that isn't how warrants work - all areas to be searched must be listed.
As this matter is still ongoing, I cannot give too many further details, however, the ATF has successfully shuttered the doors on a long-standing, veteran owned local business.
There have been no charges filed, no arrests, and we still have not seen the complete warrant that would include the actual probable cause.
The magistrate that signed the warrant is now refusing to release it.
The ATF has subpoenaed many gun show promoters for their records regarding what shows we have attended - this makes it near impossible for us to attend shows even to sell ammunition or firearms accessories.
We are fortunate to be alive, that our dog, Remi is alive, and that none of our neighbors or their homes were shot by trigger-happy agents.
Unfortunately, we are left with few ways to earn a living as both of us are suffering from intense PTSD, anger, and overwhelming depression at the loss of our business, collection, and overall livelihood.
We are now in the long process of waiting for any possible news or information. The last communication we had from the ATF were two documents delivered to our house that informed us that our items had been forfeited and that we would essentially have to buy them back.
There are no words to describe our feelings about the situation as a whole; we have reached out to many elected officials to no avail.
Although we are able to cover most of our living expenses, we aren't sure how we will be able to fight this long-term as attorneys are expensive and there is no end in sight.
Thank you for reading and hopefully understanding,
Sarah and Jeremiah Deare
Organizer and beneficiary
Sarah Fogle
Beneficiary