Indictment: Firearms Sold at Gun Shows Went to Straw Purchasers

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – David A. Bailey, 23, Kansas City, KAN., and Brandon A. Easterwood, 28, Kansas City, KAN., are charged with conspiring to obtain firearms illegally by using “straw purchasers” to buy guns from licensed firearms dealers, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. Bailey and Easterwood, who is Bailey’s uncle, are charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of unlawfully transporting a firearm across state lines. In addition, Bailey is charged with four counts of unlawful interstate transportation of a firearm and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.

The indictment alleges Bailey and Easterwood recruited Missouri residents to go to gun shows in Kansas City, Mo., and purchase guns for them. Federal law requires firearms purchasers to undergo a background check and to answer yes to the question whether they are the actual buyer. Federal law also limits immediate purchases of firearms to the state in which the purchaser resides. It is unlawful for an unlicensed purchaser to travel to another state to buy a gun and then return with the gun to the state in which the purchaser resides.

The indictment alleges illegal transactions took place at gun shows on Dec. 12, 2009, Feb. 6, 2010, March 21, 2010 and June 26, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo.

If Easterwood is convicted on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Each of the other counts carries a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.

“ATF is committed to tracking down anyone who obtains firearms through illegal means,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Gleysteen. “I want to discourage anyone from purchasing guns for those who cannot buy them legally. Straw purchasing is a felony.”

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.