Grandview Man Indicted for Illegal Firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Grandview, Mo., man who was arrested during a prostitution sting and hid his pistol in the police patrol car was indicted by a federal grand jury today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Jeffrey T. Arzola, 32, of Grandview, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Arzola on Sept. 6, 2016, which charged him with the same offense. Arzola remains in federal custody without bond.

The federal indictment alleges that Arzola was in possession of a Kel-Tec 9mm pistol on Sept. 1, 2016.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Grandview police officers arrested Arzola and several other individuals during a prostitution sting operation on Sept. 1, 2016. Arzola was taken into custody for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and because he had several warrants for his arrest. Arzola had been charged with possession of a controlled substance; when he failed to appear for a court appearance in Cass County, a warrant was issued for his arrest on June 14, 2016.

Arzola and another person were transported to the Grandview Police Department. The next morning, when an officer finished his shift at approximately 6:30 a.m., he conducted a safety check of the rear seat of the patrol car and saw the handle of the Kel-Tec 9mm pistol pushed underneath a small space in the floor board.

Interior video from the patrol car recorded the conversation between Arzola and the other person and their actions. According to the affidavit, Arzola and the other person discussed what to do with the firearm. Arzola slid the firearm over to the other person, the affidavit says, who dropped it on the floor board of the patrol car.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Arzola has prior felony convictions for murder, armed criminal action and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment 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 D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Grandview, Mo., Police Department.