Indictment: Kansas Couple Crashed Car into Cabela’s to Steal Guns

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A man and a woman from Kansas were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of crashing a car into a Cabela’s store and stealing guns, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Kyle Mendez, 29, Kansas City, Kan., and Brenda Tosh, 27, Kansas City, Kan., were charged with one count of conspiring to steal guns from a federally licensed firearms dealer. In addition, Mendez was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of firearms by a convicted felon and one count of transporting a stolen 2014 Dodge Challenger across state lines. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Nov. 6, 2018, in Kansas City, Kan.

The indictment alleges the defendants entered the Cabela’s store in Kansas City, Kan., by crashing a car through an exterior door. Mendez smashed through a locked door to get into the store’s Gun Library. The defendants took long guns from the firearms section of the store and placed them into a shopping cart. The guns included two 12-gauge shotguns, a .22-caliber rifle, a .308-caliber rifle and a .223-caliber rifle.

Before the defendants could get away with the guns, however, law enforcement officers arrived at the store. Tosh was arrested at the scene. Mendez fled from the store and was arrested later.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:

Unlawful possession of firearms by a felon (count one and count two): Up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Theft from a federally licensed firearms dealer (count three): Up to five years and a fine up to $250,000.

Transporting a stolen car (count four): Up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS
 

Salvador Veleta-Sinola, 33, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with assaulting law enforcement officers who were attempting to arrest him.

Veleta-Sinola is charged with two counts of assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon and one count of assaulting another officer.

The indictment alleges he bit an FBI agent and tried to stab him with a ballpoint pen. In addition, the defendant is alleged to have attacked two members of an FBI task force.

The crimes are alleged to have occurred Jan. 3, 2019 in Wyandotte County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the two counts of attacking officers with a dangerous weapon and up to eight years and a fine up to $250,000 on the other assault charge. The FBI investigated. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister is prosecuting.

Cristian Maese-Solano, 22, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The crime is alleged to have occurred Nov. 12, 2018, in Wyandotte County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug is prosecuting.

Ramon Alejandro Magallanes-Carta, 24, who is in custody, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found Jan. 16, 2019, in Hutchinson, Kan.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Department of Homeland Security investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.