FARMINGTON — A Jay man pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating a court order that he possess no firearms.

The plea by William Bowie, 57, ended a jury trial after more than four hours of testimony at Farmington Unified Court.

The trial for Bowie and his wife, Jacqueline Bowie, 56, had been expected to last three days.

William Bowie was accused of firing a gun three times in the direction of a tow truck as the truck’s driver, Justin Bubier, tried to repossess a Chrysler 300 from the couple’s 351 Intervale Road residence shortly before 10 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2016.

Jacqueline Bowie was accused of pointing the handgun at the side of the tow truck while the driver was still in the vehicle and while her husband drove the car off the truck’s wheel lift.

In the plea agreement, felony charges of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon were dismissed against William Bowie.

A felony charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon was dismissed against Jacqueline Bowie.

William Bowie faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. His sentencing date had not been set. Had Bowie continued with the trial, he faced possible conviction on all three charges.

Bowie had been convicted of a felony several years ago and is prohibited from possessing firearms. When police searched his house in 2016, however, they turned up nine firearms, several rounds of ammunition, multiple fully loaded magazines and tactical accessories, according to Jay police.

Bubier, the driver of the tow truck, testified he had driven up the couple’s long driveway and was backing up to the car with his unmarked truck’s wheel-lift extended when he heard a loud bang. He said he thought nothing of it and kept backing up.

He then heard a second bang, according to his testimony, and saw a flash of light. Bubier said he assumed it was a muzzle flash coming toward the truck.

Bubier said that when he heard a third bang, the Chrysler 300 was already in the lift cradle.

Bubier said he then heard William Bowie screaming to his wife for the keys to the car and saw Bowie hand her the gun.

Cpl. Jeffrey Fournier of the Jay Police Department testified that when he responded to the Bowies’ house, he had activated the audio-video camera he wears on his uniform.

On that recording, Jacqueline Bowie is heard saying that her husband had fired shots into the air as a warning, and that he had not fired at the tow truck.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

William Bowie (Franklin County Detention Center)