PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Two Missouri men were charged after prosecutors say they tried to bring illegal firearms to Kenosha amid unrest there.
United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Wisconsin charged Michael M. Karmo, 40, and Cody E. Smith, 33, both of Missouri with illegal possession of firearms, after they were arrested in a hotel in Pleasant Prairie on Tuesday.
According to criminal complaints released Thursday, Kenosha police received a tip from law enforcement in Iowa that two men possessed firearms and were traveling to Kenosha.
FBI agents were sent to find them, and eventually located Karmo and Smith in the Pleasant Prairie hotel room. Agents detained the two men, the complaint states.
In a vehicle, agents discovered an AR-15 assault rifle, a Mossberg 500 AB 12-Gauge shotgun, two handguns, a silencer, ammunition, body armor, a drone, and other materials, according to the complaint.
Karmo has prior felony convictions, and Smith has a prior misdemeanor domestic battery conviction and acknowledged regular drug use. Thus, both Karmo and Smith were prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition on Sept. 1, when they were detained.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with help from ATF, the Kenosha Police Department, the Village of Pleasant Prairie Police Department, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, and local law enforcement in the state of Iowa.
