This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
The four Lee’s Summit teens charged with bringing a loaded weapon on to school grounds.

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Four Lee’s Summit teens are now facing felony charges for allegedly bringing loaded guns, including an AR-15, onto Lee’s Summit High School grounds, prosecutors say.

The teens — Landon Mikle, 18; Tynan B. Mullen, 18; Tanner J. Nicholson, 17; and Scott W. Ryan, 19, were all charged with unlawful use of a weapon.

According to court documents, the four teens were seen Wednesday after school let out, in the parking lot of the metro high school. A student told their parent they saw Mullen on school property displaying several weapons. That parent contacted school officials, who alerted a school resource officer.

According to the probable cause, after the tip came in from the parent, the school resource officer continued to watch out for Tynan Mullen, who was no longer enrolled at the school and previously instructed to stay off campus. Tanner Nicholson had also received a trespass warning on Friday, Feb. 16th.

The resource officer noted seeing Mullen on campus again on Feb. 28th. Surveillance video showed Mullen get out of a gray sedan parked in the north school parking lot and get into a reddish Honda, registered at the school to Landon Mikle.  At the end of the school day, the video shows Mikle coming out of school and getting into the the backseat of the Honda. Then the car leaves the campus.

Later that night, at approximately 9:15 p.m., a Lee’s Summit police officer watching out for the red Honda saw a ‘male’ lifting from the Honda… ‘a rifle… a collapsible rifle stock that appeared to be an AR-15 style rifle’. The officer quickly got out of his marked patrol car and identified himself. In the probable cause, he said he did not want the rifle or any other weapons to make it inside the residence.

The officer ordered the three males to ‘show their hands.’ Mullen came out of the home and was also arrested.

According to police, an AR-15 style rifle was in plain view in the front driver’s seat, and a shotgun was shoved along the front passenger seat and floorboard.  After obtaining a signed consent, officers searched the vehicle and recovered the following:

    • Unknown make/model AR 15 style rifle, black with khaki colored collapsible stock, black scope from front driver’s
      seat by Owings
    • 10 or 15 round rifle magazine (empty) from center console of vehicle by Owings
    • A black, rusted 12 ga. Savage shotgun (S/N#123852I) from the front passenger floorboard by Owings
    • 2.2 grams of suspected marijuana with packaging (sandwich bag tied closed) from center console of vehicle by
      Owings (Field test= inconclusive)
    • 1/2 bar of 2 mg Xanax bar (white, rectangle, XA imprint) inside tied sandwich bag (also contained small amt of
      marijuana Item 6) from black Targus backpack in vehicle trunk by Eagleburger
    • 0.95 grams of suspected marijuana with packaging (sandwich bag tied closed) from black Targus backpack in
      trunk of vehicle by Eagleburger (Field test= inconclusive)
    • A brown, hard Academy Sports rifle case from vehicle trunk by Eagleburger
    • A box of 11 live Federal 12 guage shotgun shells from vehicle glove box by Owings
    • Two KelTec gun magazines from green backpack in vehicle trunk by Eagleburger
    • Sixteen live .38 special rounds from green backpack in trunk by Eagleburger
    • A green Explorer Tactical rifle sling from backseat by Owings
    • One spent .38 caliber casing from rear passenger door handle pocket of vehicle by Owings
    • One live .40 caliber round from rear passenger side floorboard of vehicle by Owings
    • One .38 special casing from green backpack in trunk of vehicle by Eagleburger
    • A silver door key from green backpack in trunk by Eagleburger
    • Rifle magazine cover from front right pants pocket of Def. Nicholson by Patterson

The official complaint accuses the teens of ‘alone or purposefully in concert with others, knowingly carried a loaded firearm, namely a Beretta handgun, a weapon readily capable of lethal use onto the premises of a school….’.

Police interviewed the suspects. Key portions of their interview include:

Police say Scott Ryan, 19, told them that on Wednesday, Feb. 28th, Ryan called suspect Tanner Nicholson, 17, to come to his house. When Nicholson arrived, he was in Mikle’s red Honda and Mikle and Mullen were with him. Ryan put the AR-15 in the trunk. When Ryan entered the car, he saw a black Smith & Wesson pistol with an extended magazine that was between the driver and passenger seats. All four then drove to an address so Ryan could purchase a shotgun from a Craigslist private seller for $398. Ryan says he purchased the shotgun and put it in the trunk. They then drove to Lake Jacomo to  look at and handle the shotgun and AR-style rifle. They put them in the trunk and then drove to Lee’s Summit High School to play a game of football.

Landon Mikle, a Lee’s Summit H.S. student, said on Wednesday, Mullen contacted him, saying he needed Mikle’s car to get his bag. Mikle says when he came out of school at the end of the school day, he found Tynan in the driver’s seat of his car; Ryan and Nicholson and another man were there also. According to the probable cause, Mikle told police ‘there was an AR 15 style rifle in the front seat area and he freaked out.’  Mikle says he told them there were cameras everywhere, to get off school property. They drove to Overland Park to an unknown residence where the unidentified man got out and came back out empty-handed to the car. He says at one point he fell asleep in the car.

Tynan Mullen told police he asked Mikle to borrow Mikle’s car on Wednesday. After school, he said he and the others met Mikle in the back parking lot. He said Ryan and Nicholson saw someone they ‘had a beef with’ and got out to confront him.  Mullen said Tanner Nicholson ‘had to move the AR15 out of the way and he held it up to where everyone and their mother saw it.’  He said the rifle didn’t have ammo in it. Mullen said they settled their beef and all got back into the car. ‘Nobody ever showed it to anyone or pointed it,’ he told police.  Later, police say Mullen told them that on Monday, Ryan called him saying Ryan had stolen guns from his mom’s house and needed to show everyone. Mullen said they eventually met up at Lake Jacomo so everyone could handle the guns. He said none was loaded and no one shot them.

Tanner Nicholson reportedly told police during the interview that:

He received a phone call from Ryan, who told him to come to his house right away. When they arrived, he says Ryan ran out of the house holding a case and a backpack. When Ryan got in, he allegedly told Nicholson, ‘Boy, do I have a present for you.’ Nicholson told police when they started driving, Nicholson saw a green beam shine across his face. He said he turned and saw Ryan holding a 9mm Beretta with an attached laser. When Ryan kept waving the gun around, Nicholson says he told him to put it away. He says Ryan then said ‘Wait until you see what’s in the truck.’ Nicholson said he did not think there were any guns in Mikle’s car when they were at Lee’s Summit High School, unless they picked up Ryan before they went to the school. Nicholson later told police they did pick up Ryan, who had guns with him, before they went to pick up Mikle at school. He says they were at the school less than five minutes.

If convicted, the range of punishment is not less than two years and not more than four years in prison, as well as a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Prosecutors have requested a $50,000 bond for each of the teens.

 

Suggest a Correction