IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Court records show an Iowa gun store refused to sell a semi-automatic rifle to a heavily armed and agitated Colorado man who said he was surprised his friends didn’t suspect he was the Boulder mass shooter.
Federal agents say Adam Vannoy made the remark Tuesday when he was trying to purchase an AR-style rifle from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Ankeny. The store denied the sale and notified federal authorities. Vannoy allegedly said he had 500 rounds of ammunition in his truck. He has been arrested on a federal weapons charge stemming from a March 14 traffic stop in Nebraska, when state troopers seized a handgun from Vannoy’s jacket, a loaded AR-style semi-automatic rifle with an illegal silencer, four other firearms, ammunition, a bulletproof blanket and vest, two brown wigs and an Air Force costume. They also found marijuana.
Vannoy was jailed on weapons and drug charges. He was released after posting $5,000 bond on March 17, even though he threatened to kill a guard, exposed his penis to guards and threw feces from his cell into a common area, according to a federal complaint unsealed Friday.
Six days later, on Tuesday, Vannoy tried to purchase the AR-style rifle from Sportsman’s Warehouse. The store notified the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about his comments.