2 charged with illegal gun possession in Operation LeGend; 1 accused in KC robberies
Two men were charged in federal court Tuesday with illegally possessing firearms after a short standoff with officers and a foot chase in Kansas City, according to prosecutors.
The charges were brought as part of Operation LeGend, the federal crime-fighting initiative launched after the killing of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was fatally shot in June in Kansas City, prosecutors said.
Police officers followed Michael Moore, 30, into a parking lot Monday by 2310 E. 9th St. to arrest him for his alleged involvement in two armed robberies in July.
When the officers pulled into the lot, their lights flashing, Moore got out of the SUV he was in, took cover behind it and pointed a handgun at police, according to charging documents. He fled and threw the loaded weapon, which officers said was stolen.
Moore then lay on the ground. He was taken into custody.
Jamahl Jones, 33, was standing next to the SUV as police approached. He was also detained.
Officers found a loaded semi-automatic handgun, ammunition and about 123 grams of marijuana in the SUV, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri.
Moore and Jones were each charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Moore has a past felony conviction for robbery, and Jones has a previous felony conviction for burglary, among other offenses, prosecutors said.
An affidavit filed Tuesday also detailed the robbery allegations against Moore.
One victim told officers on July 1 that Moore is an organizer for the “Honk for Peace” group that usually gathers at Prospect Avenue and either 35th or 55th streets. Moore invited the victim to join the group at the 55th Street location.
But when he arrived at a nearby Family Dollar store, two men approached his vehicle and Moore got in the back passenger seat, the victim told police. Moore allegedly put a handgun to the victim’s head and commanded: “Give me everything.”
Moore and one of the men went through the pockets of another victim in the vehicle, prosecutors alleged. Moore got away with $407 and grabbed a backpack containing a handgun, prosecutors said.
Troy Robertson, the founder of the “Honk for Peace” initiative, said Moore is not an organizer.
Nearly three weeks later, Moore robbed a victim who was putting oil in his car at a Conoco gas station at 4516 E. 39th St., police said.
“Empty your pockets,” he demanded, according to charging documents.
Initially, the victim thought he was joking and ignored him, court records say. But then another armed man approached and made the same command. The victim handed over his wallet; Moore and the other suspect stole $140, police said.
Moore was identified through surveillance images, according to prosecutors.
More than a week after that, officers stopped an SUV that was seen in the gas station’s surveillance footage. Images of the vehicle had been distributed throughout the Kansas City Police Department. Jones, the only person inside, was arrested, police said.
Officers seized a 9mm pistol with a high-capacity extended magazine and 146 grams of packaged marijuana, police said.
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Jones told investigators he knew his SUV had been involved in other criminal incidents and noted Moore had used it “as a mode of transportation” when he shot a victim who survived, police said. He was released pending further investigation.
Moore was then charged Aug. 3 with robbery in Jackson County.
When the two men were arrested Monday, Jones admitted to possessing a firearm despite being a convicted felon, police said.
Moore told investigators he will always be armed in Kansas City, felon or not, because there are “a lot of people trying to kill him,” detectives wrote, paraphrasing him.
Details about the charges were released the day before U.S. Attorney General William Barr will appear in Kansas City to make an announcement about Operation LeGend. He is expected to be joined by other federal officials, including the FBI’s deputy director.
More than 150 people have been arrested in Kansas City as part of the operation, including at least 12 wanted in homicides. That includes 22-year-old Ryson Ellis, whom prosecutors charged with second-degree murder in LeGend’s killing.
The operation was created to combat violence and solve homicides during an uptick in killings in Kansas City. It has been expanded to other U.S. cities, including St. Louis, Memphis, Chicago, Albuquerque and Detroit.
The Star’s Jelani Gibson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 6:02 PM.
