Jeffco man arrested in gun sale Sheriff says former Columbine student sold young gunmen pistol they used in rampage
By Ann Carnahan
and John C. Ensslin Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writers
A 22-year-old former Columbine High student was arrested Monday on charges he sold a semiautomatic pistol to the Columbine gunmen, one of four guns used in the killings.
Mark Manes, whose mother is a member of an activist group called Handgun Control, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail for investigation of providing a handgun to a minor. He was released after posting $15,000 bond.
Manes' attorney, Bob Ransome, said his client has admitted he sold the gun.
Jefferson County investigators said they do not know whether Manes knew what the TEC-DC9 assault pistol would be used for, but Ransome insisted his client didn't know.
"He had absolutely no idea," Ransome said. "He was horrified when he put two and two together, and it didn't take long."
The charge carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison. Manes is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
Ransome said Manes' father, Michael, and mother, Diann, are anti-gun and that there never are guns in the family home in Columbine Hills in Jefferson County, a short distance from the high school.
Both are devastated by their son's connection to the Columbine case, Ransome said. Diann Manes belongs to the Washington-based Handgun Control, chaired by Sarah Brady, wife of James Brady, who was shot during the assassination attempt on President Reagan.
Despite that, Mark Manes "was always interested in guns. I tell you he's lost that interest," Ransome said. "My client suddenly does realize Mom was really right all along."
Ransome said Manes, who works with computers, is "scared to death."
"It's pretty obvious that people need to direct their anger somewhere. He's probably the only viable target for their anger," Ransome said.
Manes is the first person to be arrested on charges of helping Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, arm themselves prior to the April 20 shootings.
The pair killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 21 others before committing suicide.
Ransome said Manes bought the gun recently at the Tanner Gun Show, the same place where Klebold's prom date, Robyn Anderson, purchased the three other guns used in the Columbine assault.
Manes sold it in March, but Ransome wouldn't say which of the two gunmen purchased it.
Asked what Manes thought Harris and Klebold would do with the gun, Ransome said, "It never occurred to him ... Mark had been up there in the mountains shooting with them."
Ransome said Manes was introduced to Harris and Klebold by a friend who worked with the gunmen at a pizza shop. The friend lives just a block from Manes.
In other developments Monday:
Investigators said they have not ruled out the possibility of an accomplice.
"They've always, from Day 1, had a feeling that there had to be some people who had some knowledge or helped them plan or build some of these bombs," Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Steve Davis said.
The coroner found traces of a prescription drug in Eric Harris' body that is commonly prescribed for depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Authorities were still trying to interview the Harris family. Harris' parents have declined to talk unless they are granted immunity.
Davis said it appears unlikely that the pizza shop employee who introduced Manes to Harris and Klebold will be arrested.
Investigators said they have received 1,418 leads in the case. So far, they've finished checking about 200 of them.
The parents of senior Brooks Brown, who had filed complaints a year ago with the Sheriff's Department accusing Harris of making death threats, strongly criticized Jefferson County Sheriff John Stone.
Stone said Monday he is suspicious of Brooks Brown.
"The Brown family made these allegations, yet their son was still running around with this guy," Stone said. "Would I rule Brooks Brown out? No, I wouldn't. Would I call him a suspect? No. Am I suspicious of him? Yes, I am.
"These guys coming by with a gun and saying, 'You better leave.' That raises some red flags."
Brooks Brown's father, Randy, said his son was in no way involved in the shooting.
"Let's make it clear that while Eric told Brooks to leave outside the school in the parking lot, Brooks' younger brother Aaron was in the school cafeteria in harm's way. Aaron was shot at and he barely escaped with his life. It is not possible to believe that Brooks would ever allow that to happen.
"Why doesn't he just admit the Jefferson County sheriff's office didn't do their job and leave my children alone?"
This isn't the first time Manes has been in trouble with the law. Between 1993 and 1997, Manes was cited four times for underage drinking, three times in Jefferson County.
He also was stopped five times for traffic violations.
The last time he was cited for drinking was in February 1997 in Jefferson County. He was 19 years old, and he paid a $48 fine.
One of the traffic tickets, in November 1994, cited him for attempting to elude a police officer after midnight. The day before he got a ticket for failing to have his lights on while driving his car at 3:15 a.m.
The underage drinking and traffic tickets showed he went to high school at Colorado's Finest Alternative School in Englewood and later attended Arapahoe Community College.
Other tickets had him working at Pizza Hut and later an Armadillo restaurant in southern Jefferson County.
Chris Mann, 21, attended high school with Mark Manes.
Mann remembers Manes as a nice guy and a "rocker" who favored long hair, leather jackets and tight jeans.
"Mark wasn't part of the popular crowd," Mann added.
Andy Brungardt, who lives on Manes' street, recalled seeing kids in trench coats walking past his home to a rundown house on Chatfield Avenue more than once over the past couple of years. Harris and Klebold were part of a group at school called the Trench Coat Mafia.
A Jefferson County schools spokeswoman said Manes attended Columbine from fall 1991 to winter 1993 without graduating.
Davis said investigators interviewed Manes for four hours Friday. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms traced the TEC-DC9, found its last owner and that led them to Manes.
Ransome said Manes went to police before they went to him.
"My client has taken the high road. He really wanted to be forthright," Ransome said.
Ransome was asked to explain Manes' fascination with guns.
"To me, I think it's a classic example of the effect of the media's constant bombardment of using violence, showing violence, the effect that has on subconcious minds of our youth who have grown up with it from Day 1."
Staff writers Burt Hubbard, Jeff Kass, Sue Lindsay and Marlys Duran contributed to this report.
May 4, 1999