ST. LOUIS — A Missouri man is accused of trying to rob an undercover police officer after arranging to sell a gun to him, according to a federal complaint.
Dariyon Martin, 22, of St. Louis, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, robbery, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri.
According to the complaint, the detective arranged to buy a Glock 27 firearm from Martin for $400 on Aug. 7. When the detective arrived at the location, Martin entered the undercover agent’s vehicle and handed him a Ruger .40-caliber pistol, the complaint said.
The charges were the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the St. Charles City Police Department, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Moments later, Martin allegedly robbed the detective at gunpoint, leaving after they struggled over the gun, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. According to the complaint, Martin left with the gun and the money.
The criminal case is part of Operation LeGend. The initiative was named for LeGend M. Taliferro, a 4-year-old boy who was fatally shot while he slept inside his father’s apartment on June 29 in Kansas City, Missouri.