St. Joseph Woman Sentenced for Selling Stolen Firearms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A St. Joseph, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for selling stolen firearms.

O’Ceonna S. Thomas-Weston, 23, of St. Joseph, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to five years in federal prison without parole.

On Nov. 28, 2017, Thomas-Weston pleaded guilty to selling a stolen firearm. Co-defendant Ronnie Lee Martin III, 22, of St. Joseph, has also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

Thomas-Weston admitted that she sold a stolen Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle to a confidential informant. Thomas-Weston contacted the confidential informant and indicated she had an AR-15 style rifle for sale and wanted $1,200 for the rifle. The confidential informant negotiated the price down to $900. Thomas-Weston told the confidential informant she hoped the person that bought the rifle didn’t get caught with it because it was a stolen military rifle.

Thomas-Weston also admitted that she had earlier sold a Taurus .38-caliber revolver and a Taurus 9mm pistol to the confidential informant. She had agreed to sell the confidential informant a .25-caliber pistol, but that sale never occurred. Thomas-Weston and Martin also sold the confidential informant a stolen Remington 30-06 caliber rifle.

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, the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department and the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.