KC Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearm Tied to Triple Homicide in Mississippi
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Grandview, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing firearms, including a stolen firearm connected to a triple homicide and a series of business burglaries in Mississippi.
Reno R. Dillard, 39, of Grandview, pleaded guilty before U.S. District judge Beth Phillips to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
By pleading guilty today, Dillard admitted that he was in possession of several firearms on Jan. 23, 2017. According to court documents, a confidential source told investigators that Dillard had purchased approximately 20 firearms that were stolen during the burglary of a Gulfport, Miss., pawn shop.
On Nov. 10, 2016, a burglary was reported at Jay Jays Pawn & Jewelry in Gulfport, where 29 firearms were reported stolen. After this burglary, between Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, 2016, JB’s Pawn in Gulfport and Sam’s Jewelry in Pascagoula, Miss., were broken into as well. On Dec. 17, 2016, a violent robbery occurred at Bill’s Pawn in Jackson, Miss., where three elderly men were found murdered. Investigators identified two primary suspects with ties to the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area. On Dec. 21, 2016, the two primary suspects were apprehended in Junction City, Kan.
When investigators executed a search warrant at Dillard’s residence on Jan. 23, 2017, they found a loaded Taurus .380-caliber pistol and a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol under a mattress in the master bedroom. They also found a loaded Colt .45-caliber pistol with an extended drum magazine (stolen from Jay Jays Pawn & Jewelry) and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun in a basement safe, a bullet-proof vest in the master bedroom closet, and additional ammunition. Investigators found 24 individually wrapped bags that contained a total of approximately 451 grams of marijuana and a glass jar that contained approximately 40 grams of marijuana. Also found in the safe was $2,030, two digital scales, a seed grinder and plastic baggies that are all used to package marijuana for sale.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Dillard has two prior felony convictions for being a DWI persistent offender, and prior felony convictions for distributing a controlled substance and unlawful use of a loaded firearm by an intoxicated person.
Under federal statutes, Dillard is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole for being a felon in possession of a firearm, plus a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, which must be served consecutively, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. 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 Emily A. Morgan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Grandview, Mo., Police Department.