Woman Sentenced After Buying Gun For Felon

A Tri-Cities woman will be spending nearly two years in jail after she purchased a firearm for a felon in Sevier County. According to court documents, 56 year old Tonya Rae Saine aka Tonya Rae Bowles, worked as a nurse at a corrections facility and became romantically linked to a convicted felon. Evidence presented at trial showed that Saine traveled to Sevierville to a business that is a Federal Firearms Licensee. Saine and the convicted felon looked at several firearms before selecting two firearms – a pistol and a rifle, to purchase. Saine, who was not prohibited from purchasing a firearm, completed the required paperwork using her information and paid for the two firearms. She also purchased a laser aiming device for the pistol. Surveillance video from the FFL showed Saine at the gun counter handing the firearms to the felon after she completed the purchase. A witness testified that they later saw the felon in possession of the pistol.

Saine was found guilty by a federal jury in December 2022 of Making a False and Fictitious Written Statement to a Licensed Dealer of Firearms and Disposing of a Firearm to a Convicted Felon. She was sentenced in federal court in Greeneville on Monday to spend 21 months in prison followed by 3 years probation.