Three men were arrested Wednesday and charged with helping procure firearms used in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade on Feb. 14 that killed a beloved local DJ and wounded at least 20 others.
Though the men themselves were not the shooters, their straw purchases and illegal firearms trafficking enabled those who actually pulled the triggers, federal officials said.
The government on Monday filed charges under seal against Fedo Antonia Manning, 22; Ronnel Dewayne Williams Jr., 21, and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19. Those criminal complaints were made public Wednesday after the three were arrested.
Manning was charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms, one count of engaging in firearm sales without a license, and 10 counts of making a false statement on a federal form.
“In each of these 10 purchases, Manning represented that he was the actual buyer of the firearm, but in fact these firearms were transferred to other persons shortly after he purchased them,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a media release.
Williams and Groves meanwhile were charged together in one count of conspiracy to make false statements in the acquisition of firearms, and one count of aiding and abetting making false statements in the acquisition of firearms, the DOJ said. They were charged separately on one count each of making a false statement to a federal agent.
“Stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking is our first line of defense against gun violence,” U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said in the DOJ’s statement. “At least two of the firearms recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station were illegally purchased or trafficked.”
According to an affidavit, Manning bought one of the guns found at the scene of the shooting from Frontier Justice, a firearms store in the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit, on Aug. 7, 2022.
The AM-15 .223-caliber pistol was found at the Union Station crime scene loaded with 26 live rounds and in the “fire” position, authorities said, noting that since it holds 30 rounds, “it may have fired several rounds before it was discarded.”
It was sitting along a wall with a backpack, next to two AR-15 style firearms and backpacks, the DOJ said. It was one of dozens of firearms Manning is accused of trafficking illegally, including many AM-15s. Prosecutors said at least seven of the guns he bought have been found at other crime scenes, ranging from armed robberies to homicides.
Another firearm recovered from the mass-shooting scene was a Stag Arms 300-caliber pistol that Williams bought from a gun show at the KCI Expo Center on Nov. 25 of last year. He allegedly purchased the gun for Groves, who was with him at the show but was below the legal age for buying his own firearm.
Two adults were arrested last month and charged with second-degree murder in the actual shooting, while two juveniles were arrested on gun-related and resisting arrest charges, with more charges possibly pending.
With News Wire Services
