A Missouri man who was injured in a shoot-out when his drug-trafficking customers tried to rob him has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana, including selling marijuana near a public school, and illegally possessing firearms.
Carreon L. Brown, 20, of Gladstone, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Tuesday, April 19, to 11 years and six months in federal prison without parole.
On Aug. 4, 2021, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, one count of distributing marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, and two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Brown admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Clay County, Mo., from Jan. 9, 2020, to Feb. 10, 2021. During that time, he was in possession of two firearms – a Glock .45-caliber handgun and a Glock 10mm handgun.
Undercover ATF agents purchased marijuana from Brown on several occasions. Three of those undercover purchases occurred in January 2020 at a residence near Golden Oaks Education Center, a public school for special education students. The investigation paused due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, and the agents did not conduct any additional undercover purchases in 2020.
When Brown met two individuals on Oct. 30, 2020, to sell marijuana, they attempted to rob him. Brown exchanged gunfire with one of the men as Brown fled. Both Brown and one of the customers sustained gunshot wounds during the exchange. During the investigation into that incident, Kansas City police officers found the Glock .45-caliber handgun in Brown’s apartment. According to court documents, the weapon was test-fired and entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which revealed presumptive matches to multiple firearm incidents, including an aggravated assault on April 26, 2020; an aggravated assault on May 1, 2020; a homicide on June 26, 2020; an aggravated assault on Sept. 8, 2020; and recovered shell casings on Oct. 29, 2020.
Given the renewed concern that Brown was involved in firearm violence in the Kansas City metropolitan area, an undercover ATF agent purchased marijuana from Brown on three more occasions in February 2021. On Feb. 10, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Brown’s apartment. Officers found the loaded Glock 10mm handgun with an extended magazine and ammunition. Officers also found 20.64 grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and $1,592 in cash.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
