KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The parents of a Kansas City man who died in a 2016 shooting have been awarded $4 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against a man who trafficked in firearms, as well as a gun dealer and manufacturer.
Court documents say one of the firearms dealt by James Samuels, a former Kansas City fire captain, was used to kill Alvino Dwight Crawford Jr. in July 2016, The Kansas City Star reported.
Crawford's parents, Alvino and Beverly Crawford, filed the wrongful death lawsuit in July 2019 against Samuels, Jimenez Arms and Green Tip Arms.
The lawsuit alleged that Green Tip Arms should have known Samuels, a frequent customer, was an unlicensed gun dealer. They also accused Jimenez Arms, which manufactured the gun, of aiding and abetting the gun trafficking ring.
Samuels pleaded guilty in August to illegally selling dozens of firearms.
Green Tip Arm reached a settlement in February that required the company to close and give up its federal firearms license. Jimenez Arms has filed for bankruptcy.
Jerome Walker, now 45, and Devon Davis, now 20, each pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Crawford Jr.'s death and were sentenced to 10 years in prison.