Jury Convicts Independence Woman of Firearms-related Conspiracy

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., woman was convicted in federal court today for her role in a conspiracy to illegally make firearms available to her boyfriend, a convicted felon.

Candice Loyd, 29, of Independence, was found guilty of the charges contained in a Sept. 25, 2013, federal indictment. Loyd was convicted of one count of conspiracy and two counts of aiding and abetting a felon to possess a firearm.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that the purpose of the conspiracy was for Loyd to obtain firearms for her live-in boyfriend and the father of two of her children, Joshua Stamps, because he was a convicted felon who could not legally purchase firearms for himself.

In a separate and unrelated case, Stamps pleaded guilty on June 12, 2014, to leading a $1.2 million arson and insurance fraud conspiracy and to using fire to commit a federal crime (mail fraud). Stamps and his co-conspirators bought, over-insured and burned five houses, all in Kansas City, Mo. The total actual loss to insurance companies in the scheme was $434,938, while the total intended loss was $1,196,840. Stamps, who has not yet been sentenced, is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to 25 years in federal prison without parole, and must pay a money judgment of $434,938.

Stamps was originally charged as a co-defendant with Loyd in this separate indictment. However, under the terms of his plea agreement in the arson case, the charges against Stamps in this indictment will be dismissed.

When Kansas City, Mo., police officers executed a search warrant at Loyd’s residence on April 9, 2013, she told officers that firearms were kept in a safe in the children’s bedroom. Loyd initially claimed to be the owner of the two firearms that were found in the safe, a Taurus 9mm pistol (that she purchased in 2008) and a Ruger .40-caliber pistol. Loyd could not give a combination to the safe, and eventually admitted to police that Stamps had access to the safe and the combination to the safe. When officers forced the safe open, they recovered the two firearms, ammunition and documents belonging to both Loyd and Stamps.

Under federal statutes, Loyd is subject to a sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $750,000. 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 an hour before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple, ending a trial that began Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Deparment.