Three men from Missouri have been accused of federal gun crimes after a shooting during last month’s Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and gathering left one person dead and around 24 others wounded, according to federal prosecutors on Wednesday.
The charges were submitted on Monday and revealed on Wednesday, following the arrest of the men, as per a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City.
It was stated that the individuals facing charges are Fedo Antonia Manning, 22, Ronnel Dewayne Williams Jr., 21, and Chaelyn Hendrick Groves, 19, all from Kansas City. Manning is accused of conspiring to traffic firearms and engaging in firearm sales without a license, as well as making false statements on a federal form. Williams and Groves are charged with making false statements when acquiring firearms, and lying to a federal agent.
Legal papers related to the complaint indicated that 12 individuals displayed firearms and at least six people discharged weapons at the rally on Feb. 14, which was attended by an estimated 1 million people. The shooting occurred as one group confronted another for staring at them, as per police.
Earlier, two other men, Lyndell Mays of Raytown, Missouri, and Dominic Miller of Kansas City, Missouri, were charged with second-degree murder and multiple weapons offenses. Additionally, law enforcement detained two minors for gun-related charges and resisting arrest.
Authorities revealed that a bullet from Miller’s firearm killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two who was among the crowd at the rally. She was also the host of a local radio show called “Taste of Tejano.” The injured individuals ranged in age from 8 to 47, according to police.
Based on online court records, Manning made his initial appearance on Wednesday. He did not have a listed attorney, but requested for one to be appointed. Williams and Groves also did not have attorneys listed in the online court record.
A call placed to the federal public defender’s office in Kansas City on Wednesday went unanswered.
The new complaints disclosed on Wednesday do not claim that the individuals were among the shooters. Instead, they are accused of participating in straw purchases and firearm trafficking.
“Halting straw buyers and preventing illegal gun trafficking is our primary defense against gun violence,” stated U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore in the press release. “At least two of the guns recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station were unlawfully purchased or trafficked.”
According to federal prosecutors, one of the weapons found at the rally scene was an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber pistol, discovered by a wall alongside a backpack and two AR-15-style firearms. The weapon was in the “fire” position with 26 rounds in a magazine capable of holding 30 rounds — indicating that some rounds may have been discharged.
The affidavit mentioned that Manning bought the AM-15 from a gun store in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, on Aug. 7, 2022. It accuses him of illegally trafficking numerous firearms, including multiple AM-15s.
At the scene, a Stag Arms 300-caliber pistol was also found, which, according to the complaint, was bought by Williams at a gun show in November. Prosecutors claim that Williams purchased the gun for Groves, who went with him to the show but was too young to buy a gun legally for himself.
Manning and Williams, according to prosecutors, also purchased firearm receivers, which are gun parts that can be assembled into complete weapons by adding other, sometimes unregulated components.
According to the complaint, Manning acted as the buyer of guns that were later sold to a confidential informant as part of a separate investigation.
