KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been charged in federal court with illegally possessing firearms as part of an ongoing investigation into a rash of car thefts that have occurred in local entertainment districts.
Nathan Mack, 31, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday, July 26, with being a felon in possession of firearms.
The federal criminal complaint alleges that Mack was in possession of a Taurus 9mm handgun and a Canik 9mm handgun on Saturday, July 24. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearms or ammunition. Mack has prior felony convictions for robbery and armed criminal action.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, law enforcement was investigating the thefts of dozens of firearms stolen from vehicles near the city’s entertainment districts. In the early morning hours of Saturday, July 24, Kansas City police officers were conducting surveillance in and around the Westport Entertainment District. At about 3:37 a.m., officers saw Mack get out of the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Cruz in a parking lot near the intersection of 42nd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Officers recognized Mack, whom the affidavit says was in possession of a firearm, as a convicted felon, and he was taken into police custody.
Officers found a Canik 9mm handgun, which had been reported as stolen from a vehicle a week earlier, on the driver’s side floorboard. Officers also found a Taurus 9mm handgun in between the front passenger seat and door of the vehicle.
The charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. Foley. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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