Bowdoinham Man Gets Two Years for Illegal Firearm Possession After Brunswick Walmart Incident

Rodney Skipper, 46, of Bowdoinham was sentenced to two years in federal prison Wednesday after Brunswick police discovered three illegally possessed pistols in his vehicle during a shoplifting call at the local Walmart.

Skipper received the sentence April 9 in U.S. District Court in Portland, along with three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty September 11, 2025, to a single federal count: possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a felony. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine announced the sentence.

What began as a potential shoplifting call at the Brunswick Walmart escalated when officers were directed to Skipper and noticed an empty pistol holster on his hip. A witness told police that Skipper had been seen with a firearm before officers arrived. A search of his vehicle recovered three handguns: a 9mm pistol, a .40-caliber pistol, and a 10mm pistol.

Skipper's prior felony conviction for assaultive conduct meant federal law barred him from legally possessing any of the weapons. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted the Brunswick Police Department in building the federal case.

Prosecutors brought the charges under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and illegal firearms in communities. The two-year sentence reflects the statutory penalties for convicted felons found in possession of firearms; the three years of supervised release that follow will extend federal oversight of Skipper well past his prison release.