Skidmore Man Charged with Illegal Firearm Following Pursuit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Skidmore, Mo., man was charged in federal court today with illegally possessing a firearm after he attempted to flee from law enforcement officers.

Eric Maupin, 51, of Skidmore, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in a criminal complaint that was filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo.

According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, law enforcement officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at Maupin’s residence on March 12, 2013. When officers entered the residence through the open front door, there was nobody in the house; however, they saw long guns positioned at the windows and exterior doors of the residence. As they were leaving the residence, Maupin’s wife told them that she and her husband had been involved in an altercation and he was still on the property.

As the officers walked from the residence, the affidavit says, a Cadillac Escalade pulled out of one of the sheds on the property and drove at a high rate of speed in the direction of the officers. They pointed their weapons in the direction of the Escalade and the vehicle stopped.  Maupin, whom the affidavit says was driving, was ordered to exit the vehicle. Instead, he again drove in the direction of the officers. The officers did not fire their weapons due to the presence of children in the vehicle. Maupin backed the vehicle up and drove out another exit from the property, the affidavit says, due to the driveway being blocked.

Maupin crashed the Escalade at the intersection of Highway PP and Highway 46. The vehicle was able to back out and continued east on Highway 46 for approximately 100 yards before the vehicle became disabled. Maupin exited the vehicle and was taken into custody by the sheriff and a state trooper after a brief struggle, the affidavit says.

According to the affidavit, officers searched the vehicle and found a loaded Beretta .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol between the front seat and the armrest of the vehicle. They also found 11 additional firearms and ammunition in Maupin’s residence.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Maupin has prior felony convictions for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint 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 Nodaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.