3 felons indicted in undercover weapons trafficking sting

Three felons have been indicted by a Las Vegas federal grand jury in a scheme to rob a drug stash house at gunpoint and sell the drugs.

The scheme was set up in an undercover sting run by federal agents who had been investigating illegal weapons trafficking.

All three men — Von White, 33; Deondre Williams, 26; and Michael Knapp, 28 — are in custody and face arraignment next week. The charges include conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The scheme to rob the stash house was not mentioned in the 12-count indictment returned late Tuesday, but an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives provided details in a criminal complaint that led to the arrests of the three men earlier this month.

Agent David Garcia said a confidential informant told the ATF in October that White, who has felony convictions in Las Vegas for robbery and attempted robbery, was selling weapons on the street. Between October and January, the informant and undercover agents bought several stolen weapons from White, Garcia alleged.

In one of the early January buys, according to the complaint, White bragged that he was a lookout during an armed home invasion of a methamphetamine dealer, and he showed the informant a stack of cash he claimed was his share of the loot.

Several weeks later on Feb. 12, an undercover ATF agent introduced to White asked him if he wanted to participate in a home invasion of a stash house where two “Mexican dudes” lived, the complaint said.

White eagerly accepted and boasted, “That’s what I do. That’s how I was raised.”

He is alleged to have told the agent that he didn’t care whether the people in the house lived or died.

“Now my question is the two (expletive) that’s there, do you want them executed or do they live? I don’t give a (expletive),” the complaint quoted him as saying.

The undercover agent told White there were 3 to 4 kilos of cocaine and 8 to 10 pounds of methamphetamine in the house and asked if White could “get rid of the drugs,” the complaint said.

White responded that he could sell the drugs. “Man I’m a drug dealer. I’m a drug dealing robber,” he is alleged to have told the agent.

He said he would use his “two little brothers” as his crew, and they would kick in the door and “tie the whole family up.”

Two weeks later, White brought Williams and Knapp to a meeting with the undercover agent to further discuss the robbery and the two new players agreed to participate, according to the complaint. Williams has felony convictions in Las Vegas for burglary and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon. Knapp has a domestic violence conviction in Los Angeles.

On March 2, the three defendants and the undercover agent met at the South Point resort to make final preparations for the home invasion, which they agreed would take place in three days.

They met again March 5 at warehouse picked out by the ATF to carry out the scheme, the complaint alleged. White pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun from a black duffel bag and the other two defendants showed the agent their handguns.

White and company put on gloves and prepared to leave the warehouse to rob the stash house.

But there was no house to rob, and as the three defendants left the warehouse with the agent, they were arrested.