Ford Courtesy photo
WICHITA, KAN. – A Newton woman has been charged in federal court with providing the weapons used
in the shooting at Excel Industries on Thursday that killed three people and wounded a dozen others.
US Attorney Barry Grissom says 28-year-old Sarah T. Hopkins, of Newton, is charged with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon. An affidavit filed in the case alleges Hopkins knew Cedric Ford was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing a firearm when she gave him a Zastava Serbia, AK-47 type semi-automatic rifle and a Glock Model 22 40-caliber handgun. Ford had the guns when he was shot and killed by police Thursday after they were called to a shooting incident at Excel Industries in Hesston.
If convicted, Hopkins faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Hesston Police Department, the Harvey County Sheriff’s Department, the Newton Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lind are prosecuting.