Man admits buying guns for New Hope City Hall shooter
A Golden Valley man pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to charges that he illegally provided a gun to a man who used it to shoot and wound two police officers.
Federal prosecutors said 42-year-old Michael Ronald Garant provided three guns to Ray Kmetz. Kmetz brought one of them, a 12-gauge shotgun, to New Hope City Hall earlier this year and opened fire. New Hope police officers returned fire and killed Kmetz.
Garant bought the weapons for Kmetz, who was legally prohibited from possessing guns because of multiple commitments for mental illness. One of Kmetz's sons has said he'd gotten rid of all the guns his father owned because of his troubled mental state.
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