Three Fort Campbell Army soldiers were charged with conspiracy and other offenses over alleged illegal purchases and transfers of dozens of guns to Chicago, some of which were traced back to a mass shooting in March.
Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee announced the charges on Tuesday against Demarcus Adams, 21, Jarius Brunson, 22, and Brandon Miller, 22, who were arrested that morning, according to the Justice Department.
The three men were each charged with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident, making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, engaging in business without a gun license, wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy, according to a criminal complaint.
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On March 26, the Chicago Police Department responded to a mass shooting that resulted in multiple people being wounded and one death. Several of the firearms recovered from the scene, including at least five that were recently purchased from dealers with Federal Firearms Licenses in the Clarksville, Tennessee, area, which houses Fort Campbell.
An investigation found that since September 2019, the three suspects purchased 91 firearms from multiple dealers in Clarksville and various locations in Kentucky, the majority of which were purchased in the last five months.
A federal search warrant executed in Miller’s and Adams’s homes in Clarksville recovered 49 empty firearm cases, many of which were matched to guns recovered by Chicago police officers at the scene of recent shootings and homicides.
Miller also allegedly directly provided firearms to people he was associated with in Chicago, according to the complaint.
Lt. Col. Kari McEwen, the spokeswoman for the 101st Airborne Division, confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the men charged were assigned to Fort Campbell.
“We will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities in this investigation,” McEwen said.
The three defendants were scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in Nashville on Tuesday afternoon and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Kurtzman is prosecuting the case.
The Middle District of Tennessee did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
