Source: Federal grand jury called in killing of three Burnsville first responders

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: Our top story today, a federal grand jury has been convened in connection to the Burnsville shooting that took the lives of three first responders. That's according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Joining us right now to explain what a grand jury could mean for the case is MPR News reporter Matt Sepic. Thanks for joining us.

MATT SEPIC: Hi there, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Hi. Why would a federal grand jury be called in a case like this?

MATT SEPIC: Well, firearms are regulated by federal law as are federally licensed gun dealers. I reported last month, as you might recall, that investigators looking into the shooting were examining the possibility that Shannon Gooden, the shooter in this case, obtained a gun illegally through what's known as a straw purchaser.

That's when somebody without a felony record who is eligible to buy firearms goes through a standard FBI background check, passes it, gets the gun, and passes that gun along to the ineligible person.

CATHY WURZER: And of course, Gooden couldn't own a gun because he had a past conviction. Is that right?

MATT SEPIC: Right. He had a felony conviction back in 2008. It was a felony assault conviction stemming from a fight at a shopping center parking lot. And he went to a judge back in 2020, petitioned the judge to get his gun rights back.

And the judge said no, siding with prosecutors who wrote in court papers that Gooden should not have guns largely because of his past accusations of domestic violence. At least three women in the last decade and a half have filed restraining orders against him because of alleged domestic violence.

CATHY WURZER: Now, Gooden took his own life. He turned the gun on himself that day, so he can't be charged, obviously. Who could be indicted in this case?

MATT SEPIC: Well, really, anybody who he may have recruited to go out and get a gun for him and, as I said, pass that background check, pick up a weapon. It's possible Gooden did all of the shopping but then had somebody else go and get that gun as I reported last month.

CATHY WURZER: Right. So what kind of charges could someone face for taking part in a straw purchase?

MATT SEPIC: Well, based on other federal straw purchasing cases that I've covered in recent years, the specific charge would be making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. As I mentioned, you have to go through that background check. You have to attest to the fact that you are the one buying this weapon, and you're buying it for yourself. You're not going to be transferring it to anybody. If you transfer it to anybody, you're lying to the FBI, and that's illegal.

CATHY WURZER: Now, the gun store owner who you talked to, he's not in trouble, is he?

MATT SEPIC: No. I was in touch with him last month, and he sent me an email on February 27th. His name is John McConkey. He is owner of The Modern Sportsman in Burnsville. He sent me this email a couple of weeks ago, and this was a statement that he sent to other media as well, where he said that one of the firearms that was found at the scene in the fatal shooting on February 18th was traced to the Burnsville store.

Specifically, it was the lower receiver. That's the federally regulated part of an AR-15 rifle. McConkey said in this email a few weeks ago that it was bought from an out-of-state online retailer and shipped to the shop for transfer. And he says the person who picked up the gun wouldn't say who they were, passed the background check, and took possession of the gun.

And from the sounds of things, from what he said in his statement, I mean, they were following the law. They did what they were supposed to do and did not really have any knowledge that this person who picked up the gun might have been lying and was going to pass it along to somebody else. I mean, the gun store's job is to do that background check, and it sounds like that's what happened in this case.

CATHY WURZER: We should tell folks-- gosh, we've seen straw purchase charges in other big cases in the metro area. I think you covered this, the Seventh Street Truck Park Bar shooting. How did that play out? I don't remember.

MATT SEPIC: Well, that was back in 2021. It was a mass shooting on West Seventh at the Truck Park Bar in St. Paul. A 27-year-old woman, Marquisha Wiley, was caught in the crossfire when two men who got in a fight started shooting. Devondre Phillips and Terry Lorenzo Brown Jr. both are serving decades long prison sentences in state prison.

But in that case, the federal prosecutors at the US Attorney's Office here in Minneapolis filed charges against two men, Gabriel Young Duncan and Jerome Fletcher Horton Jr. for straw purchasing, conspiracy to make false statements in the purchase of a firearm. And they both pleaded guilty.

In fact, one of the people who opened fire in that bar, Devondre Phillips-- the feds were able to trace his gun to Jerome Fletcher Horton Jr. who bought it from a store in Blaine and signed a form attesting that he was the actual buyer.

Jerome Horton got about two years in prison. And another man, Gabriel Young Duncan, got just over three years on straw purchasing charges. The feds have really made that a priority, going after straw purchasing, not just in these cases where there are fatal shootings, but more generally.

CATHY WURZER: So we'll see what happens when the grand jury possibly comes down with some kind of charge perhaps.

MATT SEPIC: Right. We are staying tuned for that.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Matt Sepic, thank you so much.

MATT SEPIC: Hey, you're welcome.