Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his possession of a firearm recovered following a shooting in Joplin, Mo.
Andrew M. Reed, 22, was charged in a single count indictment with being a felon possession of a firearm. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint filed on July 2, 2025.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original complaint, police officers responded to the area of 5th and Joplin Avenue in Joplin, Mo., on Feb. 15, 2025, in reference to gunshots, and recovered several spent cartridge casings in the area. Officers recovered a firearm with a thirty-round extended magazine loaded with ammunition consistent with the spent shell casings. Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed a male, later identified as Reed, hiding the firearm.
Reed has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Brown It was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.
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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).