A Colorado man was arrested after reportedly complaining to an Iowa gun shop owner that none of his friends had called him to find out if he was behind the Mar. 22 mass shooting in Boulder, federal court documents released Friday show.
Adam Vannoy, 40, was initially arrested Mar. 14 by the Nebraska State Patrol for reckless driving, Fox News reported. A search of the Denver man’s truck found a handgun, a loaded AR-style semi-automatic rifle with an illegal silencer, four other firearms, 500 rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest, two brown wigs, an Air Force costume and some marijuana, the report says.
He was released three days later after posting a $5,000 bond, even though he had reportedly threatened to murder a prison guard and hurled feces from his cell into the common area.
The day following the Boulder shooting, Vannoy attempted to purchase an AR-style rifle from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Ankeny, Iowa, according to The New York Daily News. The store denied the sale alarmed by Vannoy’s remarks on the shooting and notified the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about the incident. (RELATED: Gun Shop Owner Says Boulder Mass Shooting Suspect Passed Background Check)
Vannoy posted a video on Instagram bragging a $3000 receipt from Brownells, a large firearms and accessories retailer in Grinnell, Iowa, after his release from Nebraska custody.
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“This should prove to the Nebraska State Patrol that disarming me was not necessary,” the caption of the Instagram video reads.
Vannoy appeared Friday before court in Iowa, where he had been detained by federal agents. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Jackson ordered Vannoy temporarily detained pending further proceedings, including a possible transfer to face the charge in Nebraska, the Associated Press reported.