IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

PENSACOLA DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. : 3:20cr58/MCR

DYLAN ZENAS COWLES, 

Defendant.

DEFENDANT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

COMES NOW the Defendant, DYLAN ZENAS COWLES, in the above styled

cause, by and through his undersigned counsel, and respectfully asks this Court to

consider the following information, along with attachments, in pronouncing sentence upon

DYLAN ZENAS COWLES:

INTRODUCTION

Counsel for the Defendant acknowledges that the calculations by the U.S. probation

department finding an adjusted offense level of 22 and a total offense level of 19 are

accurate, as is the guideline imprisonment range of 30 to 37 months, as reflected in

paragraph 115 of the pre-sentence report. Because Count 5 is a Class "C" felony, the

Defendant, Mr. Cowles, is eligible for not less than one, and no more than 5 years of

probation pursuant to 18 USC Section 3561(c)(1). It is true that the applicable guideline

range in Zone D under the sentencing guidelines USSG Section 5B1.1, Comment. (n.2)

provides that Mr. Cowles is ineligible for probation. However, the guidelines are not

mandatory. If the Court elects to go below the guidelines, counsel urges the Court to place

the Defendant on probation. It is the focus of this Memorandum to provide relevant

information to the Court which would, if the Court elects, justify a probationary sentence.

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FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN IMPOSING A SENTENCE

18 USC Section 3553

1. NATURE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE OFFENSE

On January 19, 2019, an accidental fire at Dylan Cowles’s business destroyed “DC

Guns” which was located behind his house at 1600 W Fairfield Dr, Pensacola, FL . Mr.

Cowles's business was destroyed and he was devastated. 

On August 28, 2019, ATF executed a search warrant and recovered a destructive

device which was the subject of the first Indictment. 

A year later on August 18, 2020, Mr. Cowles surrendered to the US Marshall’s

Office. On September 3, 2020, the Magistrate granted Mr. Cowles’s motion for pretrial

release. After probation and ATF confirmed that all firearms, ammunition, and components

were removed, Mr. Cowles was released on a GPS monitor but could not return to his

home until the house was cleared. 

Mr. Cowles moved in with Francesca McLaughlin in Milton, Florida. He resided there

for some time until, unfortunately, Ms. McLaughlin and her son had a physical altercation

and Mr. Cowles had to move out. During a short period of time, he had to temporarily move

to a camp site before finally returning to his home. 

On October 20, 2020, a superceding Indictment was returned and included an

additional count of possession of a silencer. On February 18, 2021, a third superceding

Indictment was filed which added two counts of possession of controlled substances and

one Count of being an unlawful user of controlled substances while possessing firearms. 

On June 22, 2021, Mr. Cowles plead guilty to Count 5 of the third superceding

indictment, possession of a silencer. All of the charges in the third superceding Indictment,

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including Count 5 to which Mr. Cowles plead, are general intent crimes of possession.

None of the offenses involved any crimes of specific intent. 

Mr. Cowles, as a Federal Firearms License holder, could and did possess a number

of silencers that were registered. The purpose of the typical silencer or suppresser is to

reduce the noise of the firearm. While not contesting the opinions and findings of Cody J.

Toy, firearms enforcement officer, that the unregistered device was a "firearms silencer",

it certainly is not the typical silencer. Attached is the report of the firearms examiner's

technical examination, 3 photographs of the unregistered silencer, and the US patent for

a suppresser (silencer). The ATF photographs of the device are consistent with Mr.

Cowles's explanation to Dr. Rosmarin of its purpose. The purpose of the device was to fire

the gun into the device containing water to then collect the fired bullets. It was not a

successful experiment, because the bullets penetrated the otherwise solid end of the

device. 

At paragraph 43 of the PSR, ATF located hundreds of items that could be

considered destructive devices and/or components, pressurized tanks, fire extinguishers,

oxygen tanks, all of which remained in Mr. Cowles’s house and on his property without

incident from the time of the search on August 28, 2019 until September 3, 2020 when Mr.

Cowles was granted pretrial release. During that year, Mr. Cowles had ample opportunity

to commit, yet did not, any criminal or violent act, nor was there anything to suggest he was

making other destructive devices. Everything that the Government found after the initial

search warrant was still present in his home at the time of his arrest a year later, except

for the guns, ammunition, and one destructive device. 

Mr. Cowles is a hoarder, a tinkerer, an experimenter, and a would-be inventor. The

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Pre-Sentence Report noted that Mr. Cowles had posted Facebook images of himself

shooting a 50 caliber rifle from his porch toward the ground, near his barn, and had

postings showing flame-throwers. While that conduct may be improvident, it is not illegal.

What is important is that there is no evidence that Dylan Cowles had any intent to hurt or

harm anyone. 

Furthermore, Counsel believes the Government will acknowledge it is not seeking

a period of incarceration, but is primarily concerned about Mr. Cowles’s mental health and

the fact that he should no longer have the ability to possess or sell firearms or ammunition.

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFENDANT

Dylan Cowles recognizes that he has had mental health issues. Mr. Cowles

admitted himself to Twelve Oaks Treatment Center in December, 2020. He also sought

counseling at Anchor Clinic in January, 2021, and subsequently was admitted to the

Pavilion at McLean Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He was discharged from the

Pavilion at McLean Hospital in February, 2021, and was also seen by Dr. David Rosmarin,

Director of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital. All of the reports

regarding the foregoing have been made available to probation for inclusion in the presentence report. Dr. Rosmarin submitted a detailed report in aid of sentencing consisting

of 17 pages. He found that Mr. Cowles suffers from psychiatric illnesses that are now

stabilized by appropriate medication. Dr. Rosmarin found that Mr. Cowles is at a low

foreseeable risk for violence to others or himself. Mr. Cowles has no history of violence or

suicidal ideation. 

Dr. Rosmarin also recommends that Mr. Cowles pursue individual psychotherapy,

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group psychotherapy as available, and continue his psychopharmacology treatment. 

If Mr. Cowles is placed on probation, he intends to return to his family’s farm in

Vermont, and to continue the recommendations made by Dr. Rosmarin. 

Not withstanding the treatment that Dylan Cowles has sought since his arrest,

Counsel submits that it is important to consider how he has conducted himself since an

accidental fire destroyed his business, “DC Guns”, in July of 2019. Attached are

photographs of Mr. Cowles’s business prior to the fire. It was a viable, ongoing business

in which he was reinvesting inventory to establish a business that would be profitable in the

future. The photographs of “DC Guns” are quite a contrast to the mess after the fire. His

conduct since the fire of July 19, 2019, since the execution of the search warrant on

August 28, 2019, up to and including the date of this sentencing, demonstrates that under

the most adverse circumstances, he was able to comply with all conditions of pretrial

release with one exception. Mr. Cowled admits that he had taken LSD one month prior to

his admission to McLean. 

In the two years since the execution of the search warrant, and in the year since his

arrest, he has abided by all terms and conditions of pretrial release, despite many tragic

events that have occurred during his life, including the loss of his wife to suicide, the loss

of his business, the temporary surrender of his child to his parents, living temporarily with

a friend in Milton, and living temporarily at a camp site. In spite of all of these traumatic

events and set-backs, Mr. Cowles has managed to move forward with a positive goal to

return home to be with his parents and son. 

3. THE NEED FOR A SENTENCE TO BE IMPOSED

Counsel submits on behalf of Dylan Cowles that a probationary sentence is just

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punishment for the offense to which he plead. Mr. Cowles, by his plea, will be adjudicated

guilty of a felony and will forever lose his right to possess or sell firearms or ammunition.

He will lose his federal firearms license, therefore losing his potential livelihood. Such a

sentence is sufficient to protect the public from further crimes of the Defendant, and to

further deter criminal conduct. Such a sentence will also provide Mr. Cowles with the

needed medical and psychotherapeutic treatment recommended by Dr. Rosmarin. For the

foregoing reasons, the undersigned asks the Court to depart below the recommended

guideline range and place the Defendant on probation. 

Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Barry W. Beroset_____

BARRY W. BEROSET

Certified Word Count: 1,485

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of the foregoing has been furnished by electronic

or U.S. Mail to the following parties on this day, August 18, 2021:

Via Electronic Mail

Assistant United States Attorney

NANCY J HESS, Nancy.Hess@usdoj.gov

JENNIFER CALLAHAN, jennifer.callahan@usdoj.gov

US ATTORNEY - PENSACOLA FL

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

21 E GARDEN ST, STE 400

PENSACOLA, FL 32502-5675

/s/ Barry W. Beroset_____

BARRY W. BEROSET

Beroset and Keene

1622 North 9th Avenue 

Pensacola, FL 32503

Phone: (850) 438-3111

FBN: 145143

Counsel for Defendant

cc: Defendant

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