Baldwin man regains control of gun collection

PORTLAND – Guns seized during a domestic assault investigation are back in the control of a Baldwin man, but he still can’t bring them home.

The extensive collection including museum pieces and ready-to-fire machine guns have been placed in control of William Bloomquist’s lawyer.

Bloomquist, a licensed gun dealer, is free to resume making a living through the sale of those firearms. Bloomquist said he was holding some of the guns for friends and relatives, and he will be able to return them.

Bloomquist, 43, is still prevented from keeping any guns while 12 misdemeanor charges of domestic violence assault and marijuana cultivation are pending from his arrest in November.

He has maintained his innocence, contending it was his wife, a former university basketball player, who was the aggressor. The couple, who have divorced, are barred from contact with each other by court orders.

If convicted of the assault charges, Bloomquist would lose his right to own guns under federal domestic violence laws, even though they are misdemeanor offenses. But with evidence that both members of the couple were abusive, lawyers say, the state may have a difficult time winning a conviction.

The marijuana cultivation charges are also misdemeanors. Convictions would not result in Bloomquist losing his gun ownership rights.

Bloomquist has charged that police went too far in seizing the guns, but Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion said his officers did the right thing. “My responsibility is to be reasonably prudent to prevent possible violent acts,” Dion said. “This isn’t about gun ownership, it’s about reasonable management of dangerous situations.”

The 81 weapons included a .30-caliber machine gun and dozens of semiautomatic rifles, along with more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Three of the weapons will remain in police custody.

Bloomquist is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and held an internship with the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office. He has not passed the bar exam and does not practice law.