Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man who stole several firearms and other items from a police vehicle has been sentenced in federal court for possessing stolen firearms.

Carvon Brown, 20, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Tuesday, May 26, to six years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 6, 2019, Brown pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen firearm. Brown admitted that he and co-defendant Leronte Swinton, 31, of Kansas City, Missouri, stole three firearms, two Tasers, two handheld radios, two Kevlar vests, and a case of shotgun shells from an unmarked police car that was parked in a Kansas City police officer’s driveway. At some point overnight on Nov. 9, 2018, Brown and Swinton ransacked the police vehicle. During the course of the investigation into this theft, numerous other thefts were identified that also were committed by Brown and Swinton.

Law enforcement officers tracked the Ford Fusion driven by Swinton, with Brown as a passenger, on Dec. 1, 2018, as Brown and Swinton committed numerous theft from autos in both Leavenworth County and Wyandotte County, Kansas. Numerous items were stolen from vehicles, including a Smith & Wesson .380-caliber handgun, a jump starter kit, a computer tablet, and an FNH 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Kansas City, Kansas, police officers attempted to stop them but they fled at a high rate of speed. A short pursuit took place but was terminated as the vehicle fled back toward Missouri. Kansas City, Missouri, police officers located the vehicle and also attempted to stop them. Once again, Brown and Swinton fled and a brief vehicle pursuit was initiated. Due to the weather conditions and the reckless manner in which Swinton was driving, the pursuit was again terminated.

Because they stopped for gas, investigators were able to identify them from surveillance videos and obtained a search warrant for their residence. On Dec. 3, 2018, officers executed the search warrant and arrested Brown and Swinton. Officers also seized several stolen firearms and other items found during the search.

Swinton also pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Jan. 30, 2020, to two years and six months in federal prison without parole.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.