U.S. Department
of Justice
Jury Convicts Independence Man of Illegal Firearm, Faces at Least 15 Years in Prison
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Independence, Mo., man was convicted by a federal trial jury today of illegally possessing a firearm.
Meigel M. Craddock, 24, of Independence, was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Craddock was in possession of a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Nov. 20, 2013.
A Kansas City, Mo., police officer saw a green Pontiac that had been reported stolen traveling eastbound on 43rd Street near Wabash late that morning. Shortly afterward, the officer located the unoccupied vehicle near 4600 Wabash. The officer stopped Craddock, who was walking nearby and was the only person walking in the area. According to the officer, Craddock appeared nervous and claimed that he lived at the address and had just gotten off the bus. Craddock, however, was unable to tell him the address. The officer frisked Craddock and found a large Pontiac key and fob in his left front pants pocket. The officer fit the key into the vehicle’s driver’s side door lock and discovered that the key operated the Pontiac. Upon opening the door, the officer saw the loaded Glock pistol on the driver side floorboard.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Craddock has three prior felony convictions for armed criminal action, three prior felony convictions for robbery, a prior felony conviction for burglary and a prior felony conviction for resisting police.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about two and a half hours before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple, ending a trial that began Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015.
Under federal statutes, Craddock is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.