Project ceasefire
KC man, wounded in shooting, sentenced to 15 years
for illegal firearm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm after he was wounded in a shooting incident.
Tramayne D. Keith, also known as “Tray,” 31, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Keith was sentenced as an armed career offender due to his prior felony convictions.
On Feb. 9, 2010, Keith pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Keith admitted that he was involved in a shoot-out with co-defendant Terry D. Watts, 30, of Kansas City. The shoot-out occurred on Sept. 1, 2008, while Watts was sitting in his car with his girlfriend and three children at the drive-up window at Big T’s BBQ, 9409 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City. Watts told law enforcement officers that Keith and an unidentified man approached his vehicle and began shooting at him. Watts returned fire, striking Keith in the head. Keith was taken to the hospital by a co-worker from a nearby liquor store where he was employed.
Watts told law enforcement officers that he and Keith had been feuding for several years and had been involved in other shootings. Watts, who also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced on March 18, 2009, to three years and two months in federal prison without parole.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Keith, who was in possession of a Taurus .40-caliber pistol, has two prior felony convictions for sale of a controlled substance, a prior felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, and a prior felony conviction for domestic assault.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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.
