KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man recently released from federal prison is going back to prison after walking down an Independence street and firing a gun in the air.
Christopher Durant, 45, of Independence, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Kansas City, Missouri, to 84 months in federal prison without the chance of parole.
Durant ran from Independence police officers, threw the gun near a sidewalk on a church campus, before being arrested.
He pleaded guilty in August 2025 to being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in KCMO.
Durant spent less than two months out of federal prison before the gun incident, the news release states.
He spent over five years in federal prison after his conviction in an arson case where he tried to burn down Beyond Thee Four Walls Ministries.
The fire happened in August 2020, and Durant's actions were captured on surveillance video.
It showed him throwing asphalt chunks about 1 a.m. at the church building.
The video also captured Durant lighting an unknown object and a piece of paper on fire, then putting them in the front door mail slot.
He set another unknown object on fire and put it inside the front window, which was broken when he threw asphalt chunks earlier.
"Approximately two minutes later, Durant walked up to the front window with an object in his hand and leaned in through the broken window, which was then followed by a large flash consistent with the introduction and subsequent ignition of an ignitable liquid," according to a news release after the first case.
He was arrested the next day.
In addition to his prison sentence for the fire, he was ordered to pay $143,429 in restitution to the church, insurance company and building owner, according to the news release.
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