Project Ceasefire: Independence Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Illegal Firearm

Arrested After Lengthy Stand-Off With Police

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Edward L. Garlock, Jr., 47, of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Garlock was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.

On April 25, 2014, Garlock pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Garlock admitted that he was in possession of a Phoenix Arms .22-caliber pistol on June 28, 2013.

According to court documents, Garlock was arrested on June 28, 2013, after a stand-off with police officers that lasted more than seven hours. The stand-off occurred after Independence police officers arrived at Garlock’s residence to arrest him for several outstanding warrants. Garlock’s girlfriend, who was questioned outside the residence, told officers that Garlock was inside the residence and that he was armed with a pistol. She said that he was hiding under a pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room in the basement. She also told officers that Garlock was becoming increasingly paranoid about going back to prison and had made statements he would not be taken peacefully and would “shoot it out” with the police if he were cornered.

Officers attempted to order Garlock out of the residence without success. Believing Garlock was a threat to officers and the public, the Special Response Team was deployed to the residence initiating a stand-off that lasted more than seven hours. At about 2:18 a.m., officers forced entry into the residence after deploying multiple canisters of CS gas and diversionary devices. Garlock was taken into custody without further incident.

When police officers searched the residence, they found the loaded pistol in a closet adjacent to the laundry room in the basement. According to court documents, Garlock later told police officers that he purchased the pistol for $50 about a month earlier and he attempted to hide the pistol before police officers entered his residence. Garlock admitted he was a habitual drug user and he was addicted to methamphetamine.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearms or ammunition. Garlock has three prior felony convictions for tampering, as well as prior felony convictions for burglary, resisting arrest, stealing and distributing a controlled substance.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce E. Clark. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Ceasefire

Project Ceasefire, launched in October 1999, is a cooperative initiative by federal and local law enforcement and the Kansas City Crime Commission that targets for federal prosecution persons who unlawfully use or possess firearms.