KC Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Firearms Trafficking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to conspiring to traffic firearms to prohibited persons.

Fedo A. Manning, 24, plead guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to the aforementioned charge.

By pleading guilty today, Fedo Manning admitted that he knowingly and willfully joined in an agreement to sell firearms to individuals who were prohibited from possessing them under federal law. According to the plea agreement, the conspirators trafficked at least 22 firearms to persons who were known felons or they sold firearms that were converted into unregistered machineguns in violation of federal law.   Fedo Manning agreed that his role in the conspiracy was to serve as a straw purchaser.  He bought firearms from federal firearms licensees so that they could later be sold by co-conspirators to individuals who were prohibited from possessing firearms.  Between May 11, 2022, and Jan. 13, 2023, investigators discovered that Fedo Manning purchased at least 40 firearms from federal firearms licensees.  In the plea agreement, Fedo Manning acknowledged that at least seven of the firearms that he purchased were recovered during investigations of crimes in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

One of the recovered firearms purchased by Fedo Manning was discovered at the scene of the shooting that occurred during the celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory on Feb. 14, 2024.  The recovered firearm was an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15, .223-caliber pistol. The loaded pistol was found along the wall with a backpack next to two AR-15-style firearms and backpacks. Because the pistol was in the “fire” position and there were 26 live rounds in the magazine, which is capable of holding 30 rounds, several rounds may have been fired before it was discarded.

Under federal statutes, Fedo Manning is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentence of the defendant will be determined by the court based upon 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 Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.