Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that an Auxvasse, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally possessing 21 firearms and three firearm silencers.

Billy Bush Owen, 53, of Auxvasse, was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo., on Feb. 10, 2016. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Owen’s arrest and initial court appearance. Owen is the owner of Panhead Billy’s BBQ in Kingdom City, Mo.

The federal indictment charges Owen with one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and one count of possessing three unregistered firearm silencers.

Owen, who has been convicted of a felony, allegedly was in possession of 21 firearms on Dec. 9,2015, including handguns, rifles and shotguns, as well as three silencers. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to possess any firearms (including silencers) or ammunition.

Owen also was charged with possessing three silencers that were not registered to him.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Callaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and MUSTANG (the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team And Narcotics Group).

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov/wdmo

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