Springfield Man Involved in Drive-By Shootings Sentenced for Illegal Firearms
‘Bullets Went Flying’ as Neighborhood Was Sprayed With Bullets in Retaliatory Shooting
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing firearms following his involvement in two drive-by shootings.
Cartevion Marquis Chapman, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Tuesday, April 4, to nine years and seven months in federal prison without parole.
On March 24, 2022, Chapman pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms. Chapman admitted he was in possession of a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Kel-Tec pistol with an extended 30-round magazine on Dec. 6, 2020.
According to court documents, Chapman was involved in a shooting and retaliatory shooting that occurred on Dec. 5 and 6, 2020, over allegations of stolen drugs.
Chapman’s vehicle was damaged in a drive-by shooting at a nightclub in downtown Springfield on Dec. 5, 2020. After leaving the nightclub, Chapman met with co-defendant Darris Lamar Mull, 38, of Springfield. Mull received a phone call from his girlfriend, who said there were people with guns inside their house looking for Mull. Mull was upset because they went to his house when his kids were present. They went to check on Mull’s girlfriend and children, then co-defendant Nicholas David Caligone, 44, of Springfield, drove Chapman and Mull to find the people who had been at his house, who were at an address on Kerr Street in Springfield.
When they arrived at the Kerr Street residence at about 6 a.m. on Dec. 6, 2020, Chapman told investigators, they got out of the car and “bullets went flying.”
Chapman, Mull and others fired multiple rounds; police officers recovered 40 spent shell casings from the area of the shooting. Shell casing were found in front of at least eight separate residences, indicating that Chapman and Mull sprayed the neighborhood with bullets. At least two of the homes had damage consistent with being struck by gunfire.
Chapman and Mull got into Caligone’s Volkswagen immediately after the shooting and left the area. Chapman hid his Kel-Tec firearm under the front passenger seat, and put Mull’s Smith & Wesson pistol, which was stolen, in the glove box. Springfield police officers who heard the gunshots saw Caligone’s vehicle at the intersection of East Kearney and North Delaware and conducted a felony stop. Caligone, who was driving, Chapman, who was in the front passenger seat, and Mull, who was in the back passenger seat, were arrested.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Chapman has two prior felony convictions for burglaries at businesses and prior felony convictions for aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm for pointing a gun at the victim and her boyfriend and threatening them. Chapman, who was on probation for that firearm offense at the time of his arrest in this case, also has 20 misdemeanor criminal convictions and multiple arrests that did not result in charges.
Mull pleaded guilty to four counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and awaits sentencing. Caligone pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and awaits sentencing.
Chapman is also charged in a separate case in Greene County Circuit Court with unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm related to this incident.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
