Kansas City Man Sentenced to Nearly 12 Years in Prison for Illegal Firearm Possession

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm. Authorities recovered the firearm while arresting the suspect in a 2024 homicide. Tracy Parker, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 139 months in federal prison without parole. The sentence consists of 115 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm and an additional 24 months to be served consecutively, for violating the terms of the federal supervised release he was serving for a 2017 firearm conviction. Following his release from prison, Parker will serve a three-year term of federal supervised release. On Oct. 23, 2024, deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Parker pursuant to a federal arrest warrant for supervised-release violations. As deputies moved in to execute the arrest, Parker fled on foot. During the chase, a deputy saw Parker retrieve a handgun from his waistband, which Parker then dropped behind a parked car. Deputies detained Parker moments later and found the loaded 9mm handgun that Parker had dropped. The firearm had been reported stolen in Olathe, Kansas. After being taken into custody, Parker admitted he possessed the firearm, stating he had found it several days earlier. Parker acknowledged he was a convicted felon and said he discarded the handgun while fleeing because he feared being caught with it. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Kirkpatrick. It was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force. Operation Take Back America This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.