A Springfield man admitted Tuesday to unlawfully possessing weapons, including an AR-style pistol that federal prosecutors say has been linked to three shootings in the Kansas City area.
Jardell Carlin Williams, 19, pleaded guilty to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. He faces up to 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced.
A pistol Williams possessed has been “tentatively identified” as one used in three shooting “incidents” in the Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, region, according to prosecutors. Williams’ plea agreement does not specify where those occurred.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri said Williams was a regular marijuana user, which remains “a controlled substance under federal law.”
Williams, who was part of a rap group, was indicted earlier this year along with 19-year-old Ezekiel Josiah King. The case against King is pending. Their indictment came following a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation into shootings in the Springfield area.
“Many of the shooting suspects identified themselves as gang members and/or rappers,” prosecutors said in a statement. “A review of their social media accounts showed them in rap music videos and photographs possessing what appeared to be handguns, AR-style pistols, and rifles.”