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Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Missouri

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 19, 2022
Teresa A. Moore
, United States Attorney

Jefferson City Man Sentenced for Illegally Possessing Firearm Used to Shoot Another Person

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing the firearm he used to shoot another person during an argument.

Dana Ray Day, Jr., 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Today’s sentence is the statutory maximum penalty for this offense. The court also ordered the federal sentence be served consecutively to the 25-year sentence imposed in an unrelated state case in which Day was convicted of two counts of assault in a fatal shooting.

Day was found guilty at trial on Dec. 15, 2021, of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

On Sept. 15, 2018, Day got into an argument with another man after hitting his car the prior day. Day pulled out a Taurus .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun and shot the other man, who was not armed, twice – in the chest and the groin. The shooting victim ran to a nearby apartment and the resident called 911 for him. Day fled from the scene of the shooting.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Day has prior felony convictions for tampering with a motor vehicle, domestic assault, assault, and resisting arrest. According to court documents, Day has a history of violence against others that began at the age of 13, including a teacher’s aid, family members, and girlfriends. In the state case in which Day has already been sentenced to 25 years in prison, he was convicted of repeatedly striking a man with his fists and then shooting and killing him.

While this case has been pending and Day has been detained, he has been charged with property damage after repeatedly kicking his jail cell door. Day is also charged with accessory to commit robbery after he and others beat another inmate and stole his canteen items.

The Taurus handgun, which had been purchased by another person and given to Day, was later recovered during a homicide investigation by the Chicago, Illinois, Police Department. The shell casing was entered into the NIBIN database, and matched the shell casing recovered from the scene of the Sept. 15, 2018, shooting in Jefferson City.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Kansas City Field Division