Law enforcement officers seized 82 firearms, including machine guns, during the arrest of three Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area men charged with participating in a conspiracy to traffic firearms, including machine guns, and with drug trafficking.
Alejandro Zavala, 23, and Cody Bonhomme, 30, both of Kansas City, Mo. and Kaleb Acuna, 22, of Independence, Mo., were charged in a two-count complaint filed under seal in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday, May 25. That complaint was unsealed and made public following the arrest and initial court appearances of the defendants, who remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
Zavala is the owner of A&M Auto Sales, a used car dealership at 7001 E. Truman Road in Kansas City, Mo.
Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at their residences and arrested Zavala, Bonhomme, and Acuna on Wednesday, May 31. Officers seized approximately 1.5 pounds of cocaine, 82 firearms, four silencers and 34 suspected machine gun conversion devices.
The federal criminal complaint charges Zavala, Bonhomme and Acuna with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms and one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, a confidential informant told investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that Zavala has several individuals who assist him in an ongoing operation to distribute large amounts of cocaine, firearms, and machine gun conversion devices. The informant told investigators that Zavala maintained several stash houses in the Kansas City area, where he kept firearms and illegal drugs. Bonhomme allegedly lived in one of those houses and sold firearms and drugs from the house. Acuna allegedly lived in another of the houses and sold firearms and drugs from the house.
The complaint alleges that, from March 1 to May 31, 2023, Zavala, Bonhomme and Acuna conspired to traffic firearms to another person, knowing the firearms were illegal for that person to possess. Eleven firearms, which were sold to an undercover law enforcement officer or a confidential informant, included an Anderson AM-15 multi-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Polymer80 9mm pistol without a serial number (converted to a machine gun), a Polymer80 pistol without a serial number with an uninstalled machine gun conversion device, four Anderson AM-15 multi-caliber semi-automatic pistols (converted to machine guns), a Glock .40-caliber pistol (converted to a machine gun), a DPMS multi-caliber (converted to a machine gun), and two Polymer80 9mm pistols without serial numbers. The complaint also alleges the trafficking of marijuana and cocaine occurred during the same time period.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
