NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three soldiers were charged Tuesday in connection with the transfer of dozens of firearms to associates in Chicago, a federal prosecutor said.
Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22, were charged with transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident, making false statements while purchasing a firearm, money laundering, conspiracy, wire fraud and engaging in the business without a firearms license. They are all stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The investigation began after multiple people were shot and one died in Chicago on March 26, according to the office of Mary Jane Stewart, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Five of the firearms recovered at the scene had been purchased from dealers in the Clarksville, Tennessee, area, outside Fort Campbell, according to Stewart’s office. Adams, Brunson and Miller were the “majority purchasers” of the guns, prosecutors said.
Investigators allege the three purchased 91 firearms from multiple dealers near Fort Campbell beginning in September 2019. The complaint alleges that after the guns were purchased, Miller would provide them to associates in Chicago.
The prosecutor’s office said 49 empty firearms cases were found during a search of Miller’s and Adams’ home in Clarksville last month, including some matched to firearms found at the scene of shootings in Chicago.
It was not known whether the three were represented by an attorney who could comment on their behalf.