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A 41-year-old Denver man pulled over near Lincoln last year with a loaded AR-15 that had an illegal silencer attached, bullets, a Kevlar vest and marijuana got federal prison time for it Tuesday. 

But Adam Vannoy's attorney, Justin Kalemkiarian, downplayed the idea that anything more was at play than Vannoy not realizing he couldn't possess marijuana, legal in Colorado, along with his guns when he moved cross-country to Pennsylvania.

"There's no allegation that Mr. Vannoy was engaged in any criminal activity besides being in possession of a firearm and ammunition while an unlawful user of narcotics," he said. 

The unusual string of incidents started late the morning of March 14, 2021, when a Nebraska State Patrol trooper pulled over Vannoy's truck near Waverly after another driver called 911 to report a reckless driver tailgating him on Interstate 80, then passing him twice.

The trooper spotted a marijuana pipe in the vehicle, prompting a search that turned up six firearms, including the loaded rifle with a silencer Vannoy had illegally gotten online, 3 grams of marijuana, two brown wigs, an Air Force jumpsuit costume and a body camera.

In the three days he spent in jail before bonding out, Vannoy made threats toward guards and threw his feces from his cell into the common holding area, according to court records.

By March 23, 2021, Vannoy was out and trying to buy another AR-15-style rifle from a gun shop in Ankeny, Iowa, which denied the sale after he'd made concerning statements about having 500 rounds of ammunition in his truck and being glad police released the age of a man who opened fire at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store so his friends knew it wasn't him. 

Vannoy later was indicted in Nebraska and pleaded guilty to being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. 

In court Tuesday, Kalemkiarian said Vannoy, who had no criminal record before this, made the mistake by not being aware he couldn't use marijuana and be in possession of his firearms and in buying on a Chinese online site a "solvent trap" to clean his rifle that turned out to be an illegal suppressor. 

"He made two mistakes. Two big mistakes. And he's paid for those mistakes dearly," the defense attorney said.

Kalemkiarian said arrest reports were written in a way to make it look as if Vannoy was planning something that he wasn't. Vannoy, a triathlete, had a Kevlar welding blanket he owned to work on bikes among his possessions, along with costumes he'd worn at cycling events, he said.

Since his arrest, Vannoy lost his home and possessions, which were stolen along with his truck in Iowa after his arrest, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury in an attack in jail.

"He has paid his debt to society," Kalemkiarian said, arguing for time served.

Vannoy said he used to be trusted to guard inmates who were in hospitals with his own handcuffs, firearm and bulletproof vest.

"I didn't ever really expect to be on the other side of it," he said.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bataillon told Vannoy while he didn't have any criminal history, he obviously has a problem with his temper.

"Frankly, if you hadn't done the road rage you wouldn't even be sitting here today," he said. 

Yet Bataillon said he didn't think that a three-year sentence was warranted, so he gave Vannoy 20 months. If he stays out of trouble, the judge said, he'll be out next month on three years of supervised release, which Vannoy has asked to serve in Pennsylvania, where his family lives. 

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.

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Lori Pilger is a Norfolk native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate who has been a public safety reporter for the Journal Star since 2005.

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