Following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and rally last month that left one person dead and around two dozen others injured, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that three men from Missouri had been charged with federal firearms offenses.
According to a news release from the Kansas City U.S. Attorney’s Office, the charges were filed on Monday and made public on Wednesday following the men’s apprehension.
Fedo Antonia Manning, 22, Ronnel Dewayne Williams Jr., 21, and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19, all of Kansas City, were listed as the defendants. Manning is accused of ten counts of making a false statement on a federal form, one count each of conspiracy to traffic in guns and engaging in firearm transactions without a license. Williams and Groves are accused of lying to a federal agent and fabricating information in order to get firearms.
At least six persons shot guns and 12 people flashed firearms at the event on February 14 that drew an estimated one million attendees, according to court documents included in the case. People were running for shelter as gunfire broke out as the event was about to come to an end. According to the police, the shooting started when one group of persons confronted another for gazing at them.
Two other males, Dominic Miller of Kansas City, Missouri, and Lyndell Mays of Raytown, Missouri, were previously accused of multiple charges of firearms offenses and second-degree murder. Two minors were also seized by the authorities on suspicion of possessing a pistol and resisting arrest.
According to the authorities, Lisa Lopez-Galvan was murdered by a bullet fired by Miller’s revolver when she was observing the rally from a neighboring crowd. In addition to being a mother of two, she hosted the “Taste of Tejano” radio show in her community. Police report that the injured individuals are between the ages of 8 and 47.
Manning made his court debut on Wednesday, according to court records available online. Although he did not have a designated attorney, he requested that one be assigned to him. Additionally, no attorneys were listed in the Williams and Groves online court record to provide comments on their behalf.
On Wednesday, a call to the Kansas City office of the federal public defender was not returned.
The males are not accused of being among the shooters in the updated complaints that were made public on Wednesday. Rather, they are charged with being involved in the trafficking of weapons and straw purchases.
According to the news release, U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore stated, “Our first line of defense against gun violence is stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking.” “At least two of the firearms found at the Union Station mass shooting scene were obtained through illegal means or were trafficked.”
One weapon found at the protest site, according to federal authorities, was an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15.223-calibre pistol. It was discovered adjacent to two AR-15-style rifles and a rucksack beside a wall. According to the press statement, the gun was in the “fire” position and had 26 shots in a magazine that could hold 30 rounds, suggesting that some rounds may have been fired from it.
According to the affidavit, on August 7, 2022, Manning purchased the AM-15 from a gun store in the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. It charges him with trafficking in illicit weapons, several of which are AM-15s.
Additionally found at the scene was a 300-caliber Stag Arms handgun, which the lawsuit claimed Williams had bought at a gun fair in November. Groves, who accompanied Williams to the performance but was too young to lawfully buy a gun for himself, is accused by the prosecution of buying the gun for Groves.
The prosecution claims that Manning and Williams also purchased firearm receivers, which are gun pieces also referred to as frames that may be assembled into fully functional guns by adding other, occasionally unregulated parts.
According to the lawsuit, Manning served as a sham customer for firearms that were then sold to a secret informant during an independent probe.
