‘Knew this would happen’: KC-area man illegally sold guns later found at crime scenes
An Independence man on Tuesday pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally selling firearms, some of which were seized at crime scenes, according to prosecutors.
As part of his plea, Frank Hedden admitted to selling 21 firearms to an undercover agent between February and June in Independence for more than $11,000, prosecutors said. He had obtained 47 handguns from federally licensed firearms dealers in the Kansas City area through 14 transactions from October 2017 to February of this year, according to court documents
Hedden, 25, was served with a warning notice in May. He was told firearms had been recovered during arrests at crime scenes shortly after he bought them, which indicated he could be dealing the guns, even though he did not have a license to do so.
But days after he was warned, Hedden sold the undercover agent two pistols for $1,200, according to his plea agreement. Hedden told him that agents came by his house and said several weapons traced to him had been recovered at crimes, records show.
“I knew this would happen eventually,” Hedden told the undercover agent, according to court documents.
The undercover agent asked Hedden if he could get him more AK-47 type pistols. Hedden said he would see what he could do.
“I’m going to try to figure something out cause, like I said, I like doing the business,” Hedden said, according to prosecutors in the Western District of Missouri. “It’s nice to come into a little extra money.”
Hedden later sold three more guns to the agent on two occasions, prosecutors said.
Agents searched Hedden’s home in July and found 33 firearms and a binder of 100 bills of sale for firearms, 72 of which were for guns Hedden sold to people other than the undercover agent, according to court documents.
Hedden pleaded guilty to engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license. He faces up to five years in federal prison.
