KC Man Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison for Illegal Firearm

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

Keith R. Hardin, 58, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays on Monday, March 6, 2017, to 19 years and seven months in federal prison without parole. Hardin was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.

On Nov. 2, 2016, Hardin was convicted at trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Hardin was in possession of a Cobra .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun on Jan. 15, 2016. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Hardin has multiple prior felony convictions, including for armed criminal action, stealing a motor vehicle, sodomy, robbery and burglary.

Hardin was stopped by Kansas City police officers at approximately 3:22 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2016, when officers saw him walking in the street near 35th Street and S. Benton Avenue. Officers arrested Hardin on outstanding warrants. While searching him during the arrest, they found a loaded Cobra .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun on his left hip.

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