19-year-old charged with stealing gun, taking it onto Blue Springs school property

A 19-year-old man accused of carrying a loaded handgun onto school property in Blue Springs has been charged, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.

Charles “Wyatt” Kozloski, a Grain Valley resident, is charged with unlawful use of a weapon and stealing in connection to an incident following the first day of school Aug. 21 in the parking lot of the Blue Springs School District Aquatic Center.

According to a probable cause statement, a school resource officer with the Blue Springs School District and Blue Springs police received a report of a man carrying a gun in his waistband in the parking lot of the aquatic center at 2401 N.W. Ashton Drive. The man was then seen getting into a car.

A police lieutenant pulled up in front of the vehicle, ordered the man out of the car and he was detained. The man was later identified as Kozloski.

Police located a black Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun from the glove box of the car, court records said. The gun had seven rounds in the magazine. It did not have a round in the chamber.

The next day, on Aug. 22, the owner of the handgun reported to police that the gun had been stolen from his home. Court records said the owner brought in a gun box with a serial number that matched the handgun recovered from the aquatic center parking lot. The owner also told police he lives with Kozloski’s sister, and Kozloski has been staying with them in the past year.

In an interview, Kozloski told police he carried the gun on a regular basis and that it belongs to a relative. He allegedly told police he took the gun without the owner’s permission but denied that the gun was stolen.

Kozloski acknowledged having the gun in his possession at the aquatic center but stated he had no intention of hurting anyone.

Court records noted that Kozloski had been banned from school property for an alleged burglary at the high school when he was a juvenile, but Kozloski told police he wasn’t aware that he wasn’t allowed to be on the property.

Bond for Kozloski has been set at $20,000. He did not yet have an attorney listed in public records who could be reached for comment, and a court hearing has not yet been scheduled.

This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 8:49 PM.