By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com
Marlin Mack, a felon with an extensive rap sheet, passed an FBI background check to buy a gun that he used to shoot and kill a university graduate student and wound three Kansas City police officers.
So how was the 25-year-old able to pass the background check?
FBI Spokesman Stephen Fischer told Fox4 that Mack gave false information on his application to buy the gun.
“Mr. Mack provided false biographical information at the time of his firearm purchase. That information can only be verified at the point of sale,” Fischer said. “The false information was submitted to the FBI and searched through the national instant criminal background check system (NICS). As the false information did not match a prohibited record, the request was cleared to proceed.”
But Fox4 discovered that the FBI still should have discovered that Mack had “a long list of felony convictions.”
For answers, reporters turned to retired FBI agent Michael Tabman, who routinely does background checks for his company, Spirit Asset Protection.
FOX4 gave him the exact information provided to the FBI and asked him to see what he could find.
Tabman entered the name Marlin Mack with the birthday Mack provided, 5-25-93, and Marlin James Mack Jr. popped up right away with a long list of felony convictions.
Although the middle name is not the same, Tabman said this should have at least triggered a three-day hold while the FBI investigated further.
When FOX4 asked Fischer about the information we uncovered, he replied, “We have no further comment at this time.”
