Fort Campbell Soldiers Charged in Gun Pipeline to Chicago

[blues]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/05/11/fort-campbell-tennessee-soldiers-charged-guns-chicago-shooting/5044071001/


NASHVILLE – Federal agents arrested three Fort Campbell soldiers Tuesday in connection to an illegal gun pipeline to Chicago after guns found at a mass shooting scene in Illinois were traced to Tennessee purchases, the Nashville U.S. Attorney's office announced.

Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22, all enlisted members of the U.S. Army stationed in Clarksville, Tenn., face multiple federal charges in the case.

Guns traced to the trio have been connected to multiple shootings including a late March attack that left one person dead and seven other people wounded on Chicago’s Far Southwest Side.

'Eye-popping numbers':Chicago sues Indiana gun store tied to 850 firearms recovered from crime scenes

All three soldiers were arrested Tuesday morning by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Mary Jane Stewart, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said.

Each solider is charged with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident; making false statements during the purchase of a firearm; engaging in the business without a firearms license; wire fraud; money laundering; and conspiracy to commit Title 18 offenses, according to a criminal complaint.

Investigation of the firearms began March 26 when Chicago police went to the mass shooting in the city's Wrightwood neighborhood, court documents show.According to Chicago police, at least two men opened fire at a party shortly after midnight.

Multiple firearms were recovered from the shooting scene and five of the firearms were found to have been recently purchased from Federal Firearms Licensed dealers in Clarksville, court documents show.

Further investigation, the complaint continues, identified Adams, Brunson and Miller as the majority purchasers of these firearms.

A broader investigation into firearms transaction records determined that since September 2019, the three men had purchased 91 firearms from multiple federal firearms dealers in Clarksville; Oak Grove, Kentucky; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and Paducah, Kentucky.

The majority of the firearms, the complaint continues, were purchased over the last five months.

After the firearms were purchased, Miller would provide them to people he was associated with in Chicago, investigators claim in the criminal complaint.

On Friday, prosecutors say, a federal search warrant was executed at the Clarksville home of Miller and Adams.

There, 49 empty firearms cases were discovered — many of them matched to firearms recovered by the Chicago Police Department at the scene of recent shootings and homicides, the complaint noted.

All three soldiers are slated to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Nashville Monday afternoon.

The government has asked that at least one, Miller, be detained pending trial, court documents show.

Prosecutors claim Miller led the effort to transport the guns and noted he is currently facing court martial proceedings through the military base related to an alleged sexual assault.

Miller "faces significant civilian and military justice charges and has very few, if any, connections to the Middle District of Tennessee, the defendant would pose a significant flight risk if he were released," they argued in the motion to detail filed Tuesday.

If convicted, under federal law, the men each face up to 20 years in prison.

Fort Campbell is a U.S. Army base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border and home to the 101st Airborne Division.

[Guerrero]

So... wait... Chicago's "gun problems" *are* actually due to an "iron pipeline" of out-of-state guns?




Wow.




So are the gun-control groups right about everything else?

:eyeroll:

[blues]

I don't think that's the point...at least from where I stand.

[Flamingo]

It would be interesting to see if any of the three were given morality waivers. The article goes out of the way to not mention gang associations.

[Guerrero]

I don't think that's the point...at least from where I stand.

It was an attempt at humorous sarcasm. I realize that wasn't the point.

[Caballoflaco]

The first local gun store I started going to when I turned 16 was shut down after hundreds of guns they sold were tracked back to them and a couple of straw purchasers they were working with from New York. We can put our fingers in our ears and La La La that it’s all lies all we want, but this is a thing and has been and will be as long as money can be made doing it.

[bofe954]

I always wonder what the prices are like pistols around Chicago vs Indiana. More restrictive laws = more expensive product = more product moving that direction.

The fact that there is a pipeline shouldn't be any more surprising than finding another tunnel from Mexico...

[Doc_Glock]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/05/11/fort-campbell-tennessee-soldiers-charged-guns-chicago-shooting/5044071001/

I am quite pleased to see the law enforced.

[blues]

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/postandcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/43/943687fe-7d64-11e9-8b6c-dffb6129a90b/5ce6aad4d882c.image.jpg?resize=400%2C320

[JRB]

Prosecutors claim Miller led the effort to transport the guns and noted he is currently facing court martial proceedings through the military base related to an alleged sexual assault.

^This line right here. This shit gnaws at me every day. Shitheads don't go this large overnight, they get there by doing one shitty thing at a time, progressively shittier, without effective consequence.

I promise, absolutely fucking promise, there was an NCO at some point that wished like hell he could take that kid to the woodline or do some good old wall-to-wall counseling, and that would have likely *WORKED* to adjust that kid on his shit before it got to the level of sexual assault or illegal gunrunning.
But it's a newer, gentler Army now, one where we don't do shit like that because it's 'hazing' or 'unrefined' or 'unprofessional'. Nowadays this just starts a paper trail that takes years to actually form into a tangible punishment but can potentially screw up all kinds of things for Soldiers later in their careers after they've been 'fixed' of whatever started that paper trail.

Young joes like that, who continue to push boundaries, simply don't respond to paperwork because they don't give a fuck about paperwork. It's an eye-rolling inconvenience, not a real punishment. Sure, Article 15's and such likely happened but extra duty and docked pay doesn't mean shit to many of those Soldiers. They simply do not fear the disapproval of their NCO's or leadership, so while they may be on extra duty and getting less pay, they're still fucking up the extra duty.

It makes me sick, because every time shit like this spills into criminal bullshit on the civilian side of things, especially when it makes the news, it makes EVERY one of us look bad, and that makes me angry as hell.

[blues]

JRB

I feel your pain. Nobody hates a bad LEO more than good LEOs. But we all get painted with the same brush.

At least you know that virtually everyone here knows better. (And your service has always been appreciated.)

[JRB]

JRB

I feel your pain. Nobody hates a bad LEO more than good LEOs. But we all get painted with the same brush.

At least you know that virtually everyone here knows better. (And your service has always been appreciated.)

I know you all feel that pain too, and that you're just as frustrated by feely-good BS infecting replacing previously effective internal methods at handling these things.

[revchuck38]

I am quite pleased to see the law enforced.

Me too, but I wish it were enforced on all those grannies and girlfriends of gangbangers who do the same thing. That ain't gonna happen.

[Borderland]

The first local gun store I started going to when I turned 16 was shut down after hundreds of guns they sold were tracked back to them and a couple of straw purchasers they were working with from New York. We can put our fingers in our ears and La La La that it’s all lies all we want, but this is a thing and has been and will be as long as money can be made doing it.

I know a dealer who lost his license because hundreds of firearms were "disappearing" from his inventory without any record of them being sold or transferred. The story I heard was a family member was running guns out of the family business. Eventually the ATF caught on to it and closed the business down. One of the things that lead up to the bust was firearms were showing up at crime scenes that were traced back to the business but never transferred.

I think there are bad apples in the military just like in the civilian population. I'm not sure it's even possible to weed them out just like it isn't possible to weed them out of law enforcement or any other gov't run organization. Very few of the people I worked with, that I thought needed terminated, ever got terminated by the agency. Mostly just sidelined until they moved on.

[JRB]

I know a dealer who lost his license because hundreds of firearms were "disappearing" from his inventory without any record of them being sold or transferred. The story I heard was a family member was running guns out of the family business. Eventually the ATF caught on to it and closed the business down. One of the things that lead up to the bust was firearms were showing up at crime scenes that were traced back to the business but never transferred.

I think there are bad apples in the military just like in the civilian population. I'm not sure it's even possible to weed them out just like it isn't possible to weed them out of law enforcement or any other gov't run organization. Very few of the people I worked with, that I thought needed terminated, ever got terminated by the agency. Mostly just sidelined until they moved on.

That wouldn't happen to have been a prominent SOT dealer out of Rio Rancho, NM some years back?

As for kicking out dirtbags and shitheads - that used to be pretty fast in the Army, now, it takes months worth of paperwork that all has to be perfectly and precisely done exactly right. I honestly loathe most SJA's. They seem to be excellent at digging in their heels to advocate for truly worthless Soldiers, but do basically nothing for the handful of joes that are honestly worth keeping/fighting for.

[Totem Polar]

It would be interesting to see if any of the three were given morality waivers. The article goes out of the way to not mention gang associations.

Once again, I agree with you 100percent. You can see a lot by looking.

Honestly, “rapey gang members using the army to further their violent homeboy ambitions” would have made for a much more compelling headline, so who’s ultimately the fool on this agenda-driven slant stuff, anyways?

;)

[Stephanie B]

^This line right here. This shit gnaws at me every day. Shitheads don't go this large overnight, they get there by doing one shitty thing at a time, progressively shittier, without effective consequence.

I promise, absolutely fucking promise, there was an NCO at some point that wished like hell he could take that kid to the woodline or do some good old wall-to-wall counseling, and that would have likely *WORKED* to adjust that kid on his shit before it got to the level of sexual assault or illegal gunrunning.
But it's a newer, gentler Army now, one where we don't do shit like that because it's 'hazing' or 'unrefined' or 'unprofessional'. Nowadays this just starts a paper trail that takes years to actually form into a tangible punishment but can potentially screw up all kinds of things for Soldiers later in their careers after they've been 'fixed' of whatever started that paper trail.

Young joes like that, who continue to push boundaries, simply don't respond to paperwork because they don't give a fuck about paperwork. It's an eye-rolling inconvenience, not a real punishment. Sure, Article 15's and such likely happened but extra duty and docked pay doesn't mean shit to many of those Soldiers. They simply do not fear the disapproval of their NCO's or leadership, so while they may be on extra duty and getting less pay, they're still fucking up the extra duty.

It makes me sick, because every time shit like this spills into criminal bullshit on the civilian side of things, especially when it makes the news, it makes EVERY one of us look bad, and that makes me angry as hell.

For every kid who straightened up after taking the "Army or jail" deal, I wonder how many of tiese members of The Pool (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?17122-What-was-the-last-TV-Show-or-Movie-you-saw-and-did-you-like-it&p=1042257&viewfull=1#post1042257) turned out to be a burden on the command. Bad evals, NJPs, court-martials, admin discharges.

I had a spirited discussion with a judge about these guys one time. Only the fact that it was a long-distance call probably kept me from a charge of contempt.

[Borderland]

That wouldn't happen to have been a prominent SOT dealer out of Rio Rancho, NM some years back?

As for kicking out dirtbags and shitheads - that used to be pretty fast in the Army, now, it takes months worth of paperwork that all has to be perfectly and precisely done exactly right. I honestly loathe most SJA's. They seem to be excellent at digging in their heels to advocate for truly worthless Soldiers, but do basically nothing for the handful of joes that are honestly worth keeping/fighting for.

No, that dealer was here in WA.

Where I worked it took 6-12 months because of the union. Usually near the end of the termination process the individual would terminate themselves if it looked like there wasn't any settlement coming. One individual I worked with literally terminated himself by suicide.

[UNK]

^This line right here. This shit gnaws at me every day. Shitheads don't go this large overnight, they get there by doing one shitty thing at a time, progressively shittier, without effective consequence.

I promise, absolutely fucking promise, there was an NCO at some point that wished like hell he could take that kid to the woodline or do some good old wall-to-wall counseling, and that would have likely *WORKED* to adjust that kid on his shit before it got to the level of sexual assault or illegal gunrunning.
But it's a newer, gentler Army now, one where we don't do shit like that because it's 'hazing' or 'unrefined' or 'unprofessional'. Nowadays this just starts a paper trail that takes years to actually form into a tangible punishment but can potentially screw up all kinds of things for Soldiers later in their careers after they've been 'fixed' of whatever started that paper trail.

Young joes like that, who continue to push boundaries, simply don't respond to paperwork because they don't give a fuck about paperwork. It's an eye-rolling inconvenience, not a real punishment. Sure, Article 15's and such likely happened but extra duty and docked pay doesn't mean shit to many of those Soldiers. They simply do not fear the disapproval of their NCO's or leadership, so while they may be on extra duty and getting less pay, they're still fucking up the extra duty.

It makes me sick, because every time shit like this spills into criminal bullshit on the civilian side of things, especially when it makes the news, it makes EVERY one of us look bad, and that makes me angry as hell.

II dont see it that way. First off you are saying a NCO is going to take a likely gang member out for a beating? With other gang members around? These shitbirds were already criminals, a gang mentality criminal before they joined a beating iisnt going to change that. I knew a guy who had the same mentality gut a Sgt. with a Kabar for his reenlistment bonus. He got life in Leavenworth. These fucks have contributed to deaths of others. They should get no less.

[OlongJohnson]

I know a dealer who lost his license because hundreds of firearms were "disappearing" from his inventory without any record of them being sold or transferred. The story I heard was a family member was running guns out of the family business. Eventually the ATF caught on to it and closed the business down. One of the things that lead up to the bust was firearms were showing up at crime scenes that were traced back to the business but never transferred.

These guys?

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/skagit-county-gun-shop-may-have-been-worst-in-us/

Still operating as a reloading shop with archery and muzzle loaders, as of a couple years ago. Kind of a neat place to pick up some bullets and powder, back when there was some to be picked up.

[JRB]

For every kid who straightened up after taking the "Army or jail" deal, I wonder how many of tiese members of The Pool (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?17122-What-was-the-last-TV-Show-or-Movie-you-saw-and-did-you-like-it&p=1042257&viewfull=1#post1042257) turned out to be a burden on the command. Bad evals, NJPs, court-martials, admin discharges.

I had a spirited discussion with a judge about these guys one time. Only the fact that it was a long-distance call probably kept me from a charge of contempt.

A civilian instructor I had at an Army schoolhouse was a retired CSM. He was one of 8 brothers from a shitty part of Philadelphia and he got exactly one of those 'Army or Jail' opportunities and it turned his life around. Specifically, the Army was a much harsher place for a fuckup in those days (late 1970's) so he had a 'come to Jesus' moment through all of that and became an outstanding success. He was a hell of an instructor and absolutely knew his stuff, and deployed 7 times before retiring from a posting at the Pentagon.

In those days, when a unit commander could get rid of an 'Army or Jail' fuckup with serious velocity and ease, I feel like that program made sense.
These days, though, absolutely not.


II dont see it that way. First off you are saying a NCO is going to take a likely gang member out for a beating? With other gang members around? These shitbirds were already criminals, a gang mentality criminal before they joined a beating iisnt going to change that. I knew a guy who had the same mentality gut a Sgt. with a Kabar for his reenlistment bonus. He got life in Leavenworth. These fucks have contributed to deaths of others. They should get no less.

My Senior Drill Sergeant was covered in gang tats, that he was progressively getting covered up with new work reflecting his life in the Army. In uniform he was the absolute image of professional conduct and ideal temperament for a Drill Sgt.

Please understand that I know woodline/wall-to-wall doesn't solve anything at the level these shitheads were operating at, and I'm not advocating for that. In fact I'd be part of a firing squad myself today to shoot any of the three in this article if given the chance.

But harsher, painful, formative lessons earlier on in their career with the Army might just have adjusted their course, and the modern Army has no answer for that requirement.
I know a formative trip to the woodline adjusted my attitude as a private once (to that same gang tatted drill sgt, no less) and it did for other guys I know who weren't exactly angels before they enlisted.

It won't solve all of those problems, perhaps not even most. But Commanders at every level need more flexibility and power to both punish and kick out Soldiers that fuck up, so they're already out or jailed before it gets to this level.

[Borderland]

These guys?

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/skagit-county-gun-shop-may-have-been-worst-in-us/

Still operating as a reloading shop with archery and muzzle loaders, as of a couple years ago. Kind of a neat place to pick up some bullets and powder, back when there was some to be picked up.

Those be the ones. I don't know Keith, but I knew Ron (now deceased) and still occasionally go into the store. I know Don fairly well as I've done a lot of business there in the last 25 years. They were still selling consignment and new guns in the store a few years ago under a new FFL. I haven't been in there in awhile but my neighbor told me they're out of the gun business again.


Back in the 90's they had 4 or 5 people working the counter and they couldn't keep up with the sales. Some days I would want to buy something and could never get to the counter to do the transaction. I learned to get there early on a weekday to even find a place to park.

[Stephanie B]

JRH, yes, back in the day, it wasn't terribly hard to get rid of the shitbirds. For a couple of years, there was a formal program in the Navy to get rid of the shitbirds called "Project Upgrade", if I remember correctly. In the Fleet, it was termed "Operation Bottom Blow" (for when sludge would be blown out of a boiler).

[HCM]

^This line right here. This shit gnaws at me every day. Shitheads don't go this large overnight, they get there by doing one shitty thing at a time, progressively shittier, without effective consequence.

I promise, absolutely fucking promise, there was an NCO at some point that wished like hell he could take that kid to the woodline or do some good old wall-to-wall counseling, and that would have likely *WORKED* to adjust that kid on his shit before it got to the level of sexual assault or illegal gunrunning.
But it's a newer, gentler Army now, one where we don't do shit like that because it's 'hazing' or 'unrefined' or 'unprofessional'. Nowadays this just starts a paper trail that takes years to actually form into a tangible punishment but can potentially screw up all kinds of things for Soldiers later in their careers after they've been 'fixed' of whatever started that paper trail.

Young joes like that, who continue to push boundaries, simply don't respond to paperwork because they don't give a fuck about paperwork. It's an eye-rolling inconvenience, not a real punishment. Sure, Article 15's and such likely happened but extra duty and docked pay doesn't mean shit to many of those Soldiers. They simply do not fear the disapproval of their NCO's or leadership, so while they may be on extra duty and getting less pay, they're still fucking up the extra duty.

It makes me sick, because every time shit like this spills into criminal bullshit on the civilian side of things, especially when it makes the news, it makes EVERY one of us look bad, and that makes me angry as hell.

Something needs to change....

https://people.com/crime/army-trainee-rifle-allegedly-hijacks-school-bus-full-children-south-carolina/

U.S. Army Trainee with Rifle Allegedly Hijacks School Bus Full of Children in South Carolina
Authorities believe Jovan Collazo wanted to return to New Jersey


An Army trainee from New Jersey is behind bars in South Carolina, after authorities say he boarded an elementary school bus on Thursday, armed with a gun, and briefly hijacked the vehicle.

The incident happened at about 7 a.m., just outside Fort Jackson in Columbia.

During a press conference Thursday, Richland County Sheriff's Leon Lott identified 23-year-old Jovan Collazo as the man who allegedly held the bus driver and several students onboard hostage before letting them off and driving away.

Collazo, Lott explained, was dressed in his physical training clothes, and allegedly left the base with a rifle.

Dispatchers began receiving calls about a man trying to flag down cars on the interstate.

According to Lott, who called it a "very scary situation," Collazo made his way to a school bus stop, where he stood with several children who were awaiting the bus to Forest Lake Elementary School.

Collazo allegedly boarded the bus, and "told the bus driver he didn't want to hurt anybody; he wanted him to drive him to the next town," Lott said.

Video from inside the bus, played during Thursday's press conference, allegedly shows Collazo boarding the bus before shouting at the driver to close the door and drive off.

He was allegedly on the bus for a total of 6 minutes before ordering it stopped, and letting the 18 kids aboard and the driver off.

[Flamingo]

Please understand that I know woodline/wall-to-wall doesn't solve anything at the level ... (snip)... I know a formative trip to the woodline adjusted my attitude as a private once (to that same gang tatted drill sgt, no less) and it did for other guys I know who weren't exactly angels before they enlisted.


A day spent in the sandpit saved my career and likely my life.

[UNK]

I dont know how UCMJ works in relation to civilian crimes. If the military can get hold of them first it would be the best result I would think.

[OlongJohnson]

The ultimate dirtbag:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_Springs_church_shooting


Military service and violent behavior
After graduating, Kelley enlisted in the United States Air Force. He served in logistics readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from 2009 until 2014. He married in April 2011.[36][37] In October 2012, he was charged with assaulting his wife and fracturing his toddler stepson's skull. In response, Kelley made death threats against the superior officers who charged him, and he was caught sneaking firearms onto Holloman Air Force Base.[38] Around that same time, he made threats of self-harm to a coworker.[34] He was then admitted to Peak Behavioral Health Services, a mental health facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.[38]

In June 2012, Kelley escaped from Peak Behavioral Health Services but was soon apprehended ten miles away at a bus terminal in El Paso, Texas.[38][39] The facility's director of military affairs later recalled that Kelley had stayed at the facility for several weeks, until he was brought to court-martial. While there, he had expressed a desire for "some kind of retribution to his chain of command" and was discovered to have used computers to order "weapons and tactical gear to a P.O. box in San Antonio".[39]

Kelley and his wife divorced in October 2012.[36] In an interview with Inside Edition, his ex-wife said she lived in constant fear of him, as their marriage was filled with abuse. He once threatened her at gunpoint over a speeding ticket, and later threatened to kill her and her entire family.[40]

Kelley was brought before a general court-martial on four charges: assault on his wife, aggravated assault on his stepson, two charges of pointing a loaded gun at his wife, and two counts of threatening his wife with an unloaded gun. In November 2012, Kelley pleaded guilty to two counts of Article 128 UCMJ, for the assault of his wife and stepson. In return, the weapons charges were dropped.[41][42][43] He was sentenced to 12 months of confinement and a reduction in rank to Airman Basic. He appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, but was unsuccessful.[44] In 2014, he was dismissed from the Air Force with a bad conduct discharge.[45][46]