What is a straw purchase? How guns found at KC shooting were allegedly bought illegally
New documents related to the Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting that injured at least 39 and killed one allege that three Kansas City men engaged in illegal gun trafficking and straw purchases of firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas City.
The defendants are 22-year-old Fedo Antonia Manning, 21-year-old Ronnel Dewayne Williams Jr. and 19-year-old Chaelyn Hendrick Groves. These charges are the latest since the shooting happened Feb. 14.
Five others have been charged, including:
Lyndell Mays of Raytown and Dominic Miller of Kansas City, who have both been charged with one count of second-degree felony murder and unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
Two 16-year-olds with gun-related crimes and resisting arrest in relation to the shooting. Their names have not been released.
36-year-old Jose L. Castillo with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after he allegedly picked up a gun that was dropped during the shooting.
“These cases underscore the importance of enforcing federal firearms laws,” said Teresa Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, in a news release.
“Stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking is our first line of defense against gun violence,” Moore said in a statement. “At least two of the firearms recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station were illegally purchased or trafficked.”
The charges do not allege that Manning, Williams or Groves were among the shooters at Union Station, but that they were allegedly involved in illegal straw purchases and trafficking of firearms.
What is straw purchasing? Is it the same as gun trafficking? Here’s what we found out.
What is a straw purchase?
A straw purchase is defined as buying a firearm for someone who is prohibited by law from possessing one, or for someone who doesn’t want their name associated with it, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The buyer of the gun is someone who would be unable to pass the required federal background check, or is someone who does not want their name associated with the purchase. So they have someone who can pass the background check buy the gun for them and lie about who it is for, according to the ATF.
Straw purchasing is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the ATF.
Manning faces a 12-count criminal complaint accusing him of one count each of conspiracy to traffic firearms and engaging in firearm sales without a license, and 10 counts of making a false statement on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form.
Williams and Groves, who were charged in the same complaint, both face one count each of conspiracy to make false statements in the acquisition of firearms; aiding and abetting the making of false statements in the acquisition of firearms, and making a false statement to a federal agent.
Which guns were straw trafficked?
Two guns found at the Chiefs rally at Union Station were straw trafficked, making them illegal, according to court documents.
Manning allegedly purchased an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber pistol from Frontier Justice in Lee’s Summit on Aug. 7, 2022, according to court documents. That pistol was one of the guns found at Union Station following the shooting along a wall with a backpack, next to two AR-15-style rifles and backpacks.
Manning is accused of illegally distributed dozens of firearms, including many Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 firearms.
The documents say he indicated on the purchasing form that he “was the actual transferee/buyer of each firearm listed on each form and these statements and representations by the defendant were completely false, as the defendant well knew.”
Manning, who does not have a license to sell guns, allegedly bought and sold dozens, including 15 that were recovered by police in possession of others. Several of those people were not legally allowed to own a gun, according to the news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The second firearm recovered from the mass shooting was a Stag Arms pistol, which Williams allegedly purchased from The Ammo Box during a gun show at the KCI Expo Center in Kansas City’s Northland on Nov. 25.
In the charging documents against Williams and Groves, they are said to have attended the gun show looking to buy receivers. Groves, who is under the age of 21, is too young to legally purchase a firearm receiver.
According to court documents, Groves allegedly gave money to Williams to purchase the Stag Arms receiver for him.
The Star’s Bob Cronkleton contributed to this report.
