Ezekiel Josiah King, Unlawful Possession of Firearms, Missouri 2024

Grimy Times Exclusive: Ezekiel Josiah King, a 21-year-old Springfield gang leader and rapper, was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms.

On January 16, 2024, King pleaded guilty to one count of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms. According to court documents, King, a leader of the FTO gang, was in possession of a loaded Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine containing 29 rounds and an Anderson AM-15 multi-caliber rifle, loaded with 31 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition.

The firearms were discovered during a traffic stop on February 15, 2022, when King was driving a gold Nissan Altima that was stopped by Springfield police detectives for multiple traffic violations. King claimed he was driving erratically because he believed a rival gang was chasing him. In addition to the firearms, detectives found marijuana in the vehicle, as well as another extended magazine and two factory Glock magazines under the driver’s seat.

King’s co-defendant, Jardell Carlin Williams, 20, also a leader of the FTO gang, was sentenced on February 5, 2024, to six years and six months in federal prison without parole. Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms. Williams was in possession of a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol during the traffic stop and admitted to possessing a C3 Defense 5.56-caliber semi-automatic pistol in another incident.

Both King and Williams admitted to regularly smoking marijuana. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, and the Springfield Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence in communities. The program brings together law enforcement and community organizations to set focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measure results.

Grimy Times has learned that King is a suspect or person of interest in several violent crimes, including a shooting that resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to a third, a robbery, a theft of a firearm, a shooting that left the victim paralyzed, and multiple drive-by shootings.

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