KANSAS CITY, Mo. – U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison announced today that 288 arrests have been made by local and federal law enforcement officers in Operation LeGend.

Among those arrested since the launch of the operation, 61 are federal defendants. Among the remaining 227 arrests, 24 were homicide cases and 72 were fugitives with either state or federal warrants for their arrest. The remaining 131 non-fugitive arrests were referred for prosecution in state court.

In addition to the arrests, agents and officers have seized 89 firearms during Operation LeGend.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is not able to track cases that are referred for prosecution in state court. In addition to the arrests of federal defendants charged in other districts, or who were arrested for violating their supervised release, the following 38 defendants have been charged in federal court in the Western District of Missouri:

Edward Latimore, felon in possession of a firearm;

G’aunte Butler, drug user in possession of a firearm;

Chase Lewis, drug user in possession of a firearm;

Romeny Aubrey, felon in possession of a firearm;

Robert Jordan, felon in possession of a firearm;

Harun Rimson, felon in possession of a firearm;

Anthony Meneses, felon in possession of a firearm;

Lance Saenz, felon in possession of a firearm;

Scott Yount, drug trafficking;

Crystal Smith, drug trafficking;

Aurora Page, felon in possession of a firearm;

Crystell Smith, drug trafficking;

Devonte  Bowman, arson;

Jamahl Jones, felon in possession of a firearm;

Michael Moore, felon in possession of a firearm;

Tylor Lack, felon in possession of a firearm;

Dominic McDaniel, felon in possession of a firearm;

Cameron Smith, felon in possession of a firearm;

Charles Bai, felon in possession of a firearm, drug trafficking;

Federico Yanez-Saldivar, felon in possession of a firearm, drug trafficking;

Manuel Vazques, felon in possession of a firearm, drug trafficking.

Previously reported federal defendants:

Terrell L. Releford, felon in possession of a firearm;

Dustin M. Jordan, felon in possession of a firearm;

Zackory Phillips, felon in possession of a firearm;

Travis J. Pipes, heroin trafficking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime;

Dylan Pruett, felon in possession of a firearm;

Chase M. Murphy, armed robbery conspiracy, armed robbery, brandishing firearms during a crime of violence. 

Monty Ray, unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm;

Steven Younce, felon in possession of a firearm, meth trafficking, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime;

Daniel Briscoe, methamphetamine trafficking, heroin trafficking;

Leamandreal Dorsey, felon in possession of a firearm;

Shannon Walz, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition;

Maricela Lozano, carjacking, using a firearm during a crime of violence;

Gary Dorch, felon in possession of a firearm;

Patricia Nelson, felon in possession of a firearm;

Bobby Lynn King, felon in possession of a firearm;

Logan Tanner Laws, unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm;

Michael Glen Zeigers, felon in possession of a firearm;

Nelson, King, Laws, and Zeigers are co-defendants also charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, money laundering, and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Operation LeGend

Operation LeGend is a federal partnership with local law enforcement to address the increase in homicides and violent crime in Kansas City, Mo., in 2020. The operation honors the memory of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, one of the youngest fatalities during a record-breaking year of homicides and shootings. Additional federal agents were assigned to the operation from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison announced today that 59 additional arrests have been made in the past week by local and federal law enforcement officers in Operation LeGend, for a total of 156 arrests since the start of the operation.





Pastor Darron Edwards welcomed U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison to a meeting with about 20 local pastors at United Believers Community Church to discuss Operation LeGend.







Among those arrested since Aug. 1, new federal charges have been filed against six defendants, for a total of 17 new federal cases in Operation LeGend. All of the new federal defendants were charged with firearms-related crimes. Four of the six new defendants were charged with being felons in possession of firearms. One defendant was charged with heroin trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm. One defendant was charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit armed robberies at several local businesses.

Among the remaining 53 arrests in the past week, 35 were fugitives with either state or federal warrants for their arrest. The remaining 18 non-fugitive arrests were referred for prosecution in state court. Seven arrests were for homicides, for a total of 12 homicide arrests under Operation LeGend. Other offenses cited in the arrests included assault (including non-fatal shootings), drug trafficking, illegally possessing firearms, robbery, bank robbery, child molestation, sexual assault, possessing stolen property and possessing stolen firearms.





U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison met with a group of pastors this week to discuss Operation LeGend, listen to their concerns, and respond to their questions.







In addition to the arrests, in the past week agents and officers seized 17 firearms (for a total of 52 firearms seized during Operation LeGend); a number of stolen vehicles and motorcycles; 210 THC cartridges; quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana; and $52,000.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is not able to track cases that are referred for prosecution in state court. The following defendants have been charged in federal court in the past week:

Terrell L. Releford, felon in possession of a firearm;

Dustin M. Jordan, felon in possession of a firearm;

Zackory Phillips, felon in possession of a firearm;

Travis J. Pipes, heroin trafficking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime;

Dylan Pruett, felon in possession of a firearm;

Chase M. Murphy, armed robbery conspiracy, armed robbery, brandishing firearms during a crime of violence.

Previously reported federal defendants:

Monty Ray, unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm;

Steven Younce, felon in possession of a firearm, meth trafficking, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime;

Daniel Briscoe, methamphetamine trafficking, heroin trafficking;

Leamandreal Dorsey, felon in possession of a firearm;

Shannon Walz, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition;

Maricela Lozano, carjacking, using a firearm during a crime of violence;

Gary Dorch, felon in possession of a firearm;

Patricia Nelson, felon in possession of a firearm;

Bobby Lynn King, felon in possession of a firearm;

Logan Tanner Laws, unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm;

Michael Glen Zeigers, felon in possession of a firearm;

Nelson, King, Laws, and Zeigers are co-defendants also charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, money laundering, and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Operation LeGend

Operation LeGend is a federal partnership with local law enforcement to address the increase in homicides and violent crime in Kansas City, Mo., in 2020. The operation honors the memory of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, one of the youngest fatalities during a record-breaking year of homicides and shootings. Additional federal agents were assigned to the operation from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.





A group of local pastors met with U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison this week at United Believers Community Church to discuss Operation LeGend.







 

This Glock .40-caliber handgun attached to an extended drum magazine was seized by law enforcement officers at the time of Dorsey's arrest.







KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man who was arrested after he allegedly shot three victims in an incident this week has been charged in federal court with illegally possessing a firearm during an earlier firearm incident.

“Court documents cite a long history of gun violence and drug trafficking by this defendant who terrorized his neighborhood, allegedly shooting several victims this week,” Garrison said. “This is his second federal charge for illegally possessing firearms. Operation LeGend is successfully taking armed, violent criminals like this off the street to make our neighborhoods safer.”

Leamandreal Dorsey, 40, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in a complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. That complaint was unsealed and made public today following Dorsey’s arrest and initial court appearance.

Today’s federal criminal complaint charges Dorsey with illegally possessing a firearm following a threat to shoot event that occurred on April 1, 2020. Dorsey is charged with possessing a Glock .40-caliber handgun attached to an extended drum magazine that contained 40 live rounds of ammunition. 

On April 1, 2020, Kansas City, police officers responded to a reported weapons disturbance in the 2500 block of East 68th Terrace. One of Dorsey’s neighbors told officers that Dorsey pointed a gun at him and threatened him. Officers contacted Dorsey at Dorsey’s residence, sitting on the roof of a black Mercedes-Benz C300. According to the affidavit, Dorsey jumped into the driver’s seat when officers approached.  Dorsey was removed from his vehicle and taken into custody. The owner of the vehicle provided consent for the officers to search the car, and they found a backpack in the passenger’s seat that contained the Glock .40-caliber handgun attached to an extended drum magazine, as well as a spare magazine.

Although this incident occurred on April 1, Dorsey was arrested following a separate shooting incident that occurred this week in which three individuals were wounded by gunfire.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Kansas City, Missouri, police officers were dispatched to the 2500 block of E. 68th Terrace at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, concerning a shooting. Six individuals were on the front porch of a residence, the affidavit says, when an individual later identified as Dorsey started shooting at them. According to the victims, Dorsey walked away, but returned minutes later and began shooting again, then fled on foot. Three of the individuals were struck by gunfire and transported to Research Medical Center. Investigators found 31 spent shell casings at the scene.

Later the same day, investigators received a Crime Stoppers tip that identified Dorsey as the shooter.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Dorsey has a prior felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, for which he served three years in federal prison. He also has two prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, and a prior felony conviction for drug trafficking. 

Today’s affidavit also cites four previous instances in which Dorsey pointed firearms at people and threatened them. Among those incidents, the affidavit says, Dorsey shot a man in the hip who was running from Dorsey’s residence following a disagreement.

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 Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

Operation LeGend

Operation LeGend is a federal partnership with local law enforcement to address the increase in homicides and violent crime in Kansas City, Mo., in 2020. The operation honors the memory of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, one of the youngest fatalities during a record-breaking year of homicides and shootings. Additional federal agents were assigned to the operation from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.