Plains man sentenced to 7 years in prison for illegal firearm possession

MISSOULA - A Plains man who was prohibited from owning firearms was sentenced today to 84 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot said.

Graham Anthony Bowden, 49, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and two counts of possession of an unregistered silencer.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

The government alleged in court documents that in the fall of 2024, law enforcement officers encountered Bowden in several instances in which they either observed him to be armed with a firearm or with firearms accessories. Based in part on those incidents, a federal search warrant was obtained to search Bowden's residence, which was a camper parked on the property of Bowden's friend. Also on the property was a freestanding home belonging to Bowden's friend.

Agents located eight firearms belonging to Bowden, along with two silencers and assorted ammunition.

Law enforcement interviewed Bowden and he admitted he owned the firearms had been meaning to register them. Bowden acknowledged he had signed paperwork related to his California convictions that prohibited him from possessing firearms but said he thought his rights had been automatically restored at some point. Bowden produced no paperwork to support that assertion.

Bowden also admitted to possessing the two silencers, saying one came with a firearm he purchased and that the other was a blank. Bowden said he didn't know suppressors were federally controlled and needed to be registered. The silencers were not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

On January 6, 2012, Bowden was convicted of six counts of robbery in the second degree with a firearms enhancement in Orange County Superior Court of California and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was paroled from custody in 2020.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Lowney prosecuted the case. The ATF, Plains Police Department, and Sanders County Sheriff's Department conducted the investigation.

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