ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A man accused of legally buying guns and then turning around and selling the guns was in federal court in Albuquerque on Monday morning.
The Albuquerque Police Department said the weapons he bought were connected to 17 different shootings. Federal documents show just how many stores investigators say he lied to. “The thing is, Mr. Kellner and them provided these firearms to others and that’s where we started to see the issues and the problems,” said APD Chief Harold Medina in an April 2023 press conference.
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Last year, Albuquerque police arrested now 26-year-old Adin Kellner, his younger brother Riley, and Jimmy Ward for distributing weapons across the metro.
“These individuals who are passing these firearms and acting as the middle person to put firearms in the arms of individuals who shouldn’t possess them or not purchase them. They are a big part of why we have so many illegal firearms in the city of Albuquerque, what’s driving our violent crime rates,” said Chief Medina.
A federal indictment says on at least 12 different occasions, Kellner went into stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Omni firearms, and other small gun shops around the metro. According to the documents, he “knowingly made a false and fictitious statement” to workers that he would be the buyer of the gun. When in reality he was purchasing for someone else.
“The gun stores did nothing wrong; clerks at these stores did nothing wrong,” said Chief Medina.
In a press conference in April 2023, APD said seven of those guns were recovered. Investigators connected the guns to 17 shootings in Albuquerque resulting in five people being injured and 163 rounds fired in total. “We want our criminals to know, we want individuals involved in these activities to know that we will find those shell casings, we will trace those guns,” said Medina.
Kellner pled guilty to a state charge of shooting from a motor vehicle this February, he was given 18 months probation.
In federal court on Monday, Judge Jennifer Rozzoni decided to keep Kellner in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
KRQE News 13 reached out to the US Attorney’s Office, a spokesperson said they had nothing to add at this time. Kellner is expected back in court on Tuesday morning.
KRQE News 13 also asked APD if they have recovered any more of the weapons they say Kellner illegally purchased. APD has not responded.
