KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney
for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man
was convicted in federal court today of illegally possessing a controlled
substance and firearms.
Rashawn Long, 33, of Kansas City, was found guilty of both
counts contained in a Nov. 15, 2013, federal indictment. Long was convicted of
one count of possessing Buphedrone (also known as bath salts, a controlled
substance similar to methamphetamine) with the intent to distribute and one
count of being a felon in possession of firearms.
Kansas City, Mo., police officers responded to a call about
a suspicious person on Oct. 26, 2013. Officers contacted a homeowner, who
stated that a man she didn’t know had been knocking on her door. She also told
officers that he parked his 2013 Dodge Avenger in her back yard area and left.
She had no idea who the vehicle belonged to or why it was parked in her back
yard.
Officers noticed that the vehicle had a strong brake pad
odor, which was consistent with it having been recently driven at a high rate
of speed with the brakes repeatedly engaged. One of the officers requested a
tow truck to come pick up the vehicle. When the resident went to move her own
vehicle so that the tow truck could get into her back yard, she found a note
from Long, but addressed to another
person, thanking that person for letting him park the vehicle in her yard.
A few minutes later, Long came running up the hill, waving
his arms and yelling at the officers. He told the officers that he knew the
owner of the residence and that he parked vehicles there before. Long also told
officers that he was trying to hide his car from his fiancé while he visited
another woman who lived down the block, and did not want anyone to see him.
Long, who had two active arrest warrants, was taken into custody.
When officers searched Long’s vehicle, they found a backpack
that contained a stun gun, a can of pepper spray, a digital scale with residue,
a digital video camera and a Coke can. Inside the Coke can was a false
compartment that contained 5.67 grams of Buphedrone.
When officers reviewed the contents of the digital video
camera, they found at least two images in which Long flashed a Glock
semi-automatic handgun.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been
convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Long
has prior felony convictions for second degree murder, armed criminal action,
unlawful use of a weapon and trafficking drugs.
Under federal statutes, Long is subject to a sentence of up
to 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1,250,000. A
sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence
investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S.
District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about two hours before
returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, ending a
trial that began Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Joseph M. Marquez and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It
was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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