A Kansas City woman was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison for attempting to ignite a fire at a warehouse that federal officials had considered for use as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough also ordered Dara S. O’Connor, 30, to serve two years of supervised release after her prison term and to pay $43,612 in damages. The sentence followed a guilty plea entered in May.
The case grew out of a small fire at a 920,000-square-foot warehouse at 14901 Botts Road. The property’s owner, Platform Ventures, had announced on Feb. 12 that it would not complete a sale of the building to the federal government. The possible transaction had drawn weeks of public criticism before the deal was abandoned.
Fire followed announcement that sale had ended
According to federal authorities, the fire occurred only hours after Platform Ventures announced the sale would not proceed. News crews were at the warehouse reporting on the failed transaction when they saw O’Connor walking toward the building, prosecutors said.
Federal officials said the crews recorded O’Connor’s actions. She approached the facility carrying two bottles containing flammable liquid. The bottles were not initially lit, but after several attempts to throw them at the building, both broke and spilled their contents against the structure.
O’Connor then set the spilled liquid on fire, authorities said. When the flames began to diminish, she attempted to increase the fire by applying more accelerant. The fire eventually went out after several minutes, according to court documents.
- Defendant: Dara S. O’Connor, 30, of Kansas City
- Sentence: Two years in federal prison
- Additional penalties: Two years of supervised release and $43,612 in restitution or damages
- Charge: Knowingly possessing two destructive devices that were not registered in the federal firearms registry
What the guilty plea covered
O’Connor pleaded guilty to one count involving the knowing possession of two destructive devices that were not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The charge was resolved through a plea agreement, rather than a trial.
The federal firearms registry is part of the legal framework governing certain destructive devices. In this case, the charge arose from the two bottles used in the attempted fire, according to the federal prosecutor’s account. The source material does not identify any additional charges connected with the incident.
A facility at the center of a disputed proposal
The warehouse had become a focus of local attention because it was among the sites federal officials had considered for an ICE detention center. The proposed sale generated sustained criticism before the owner withdrew from the deal. That opposition formed the immediate public backdrop to the attempted fire, although the sentencing information does not describe O’Connor’s broader motives or affiliations.
The building’s size also helps explain why the attempted fire drew federal attention. At nearly one million square feet, the warehouse represented a major industrial property, and any fire there could have created risks extending beyond the initial point of ignition. In this instance, authorities said the flames remained small and burned out within minutes.
After the flames went out
After the fire ended, O’Connor remained seated on a nearby curb for several minutes, according to court documents. She then left the area in a vehicle. The account released by federal authorities does not report injuries, and it does not indicate that the building sustained damage beyond the amount included in the court’s financial order.
The $43,612 damages order places a direct financial cost on the incident in addition to the prison sentence and post-release supervision. For the property owner and others responsible for a large industrial building, even a brief fire can bring repair, inspection and security concerns, though the available information does not break down the amount by category.
| Date or stage | Event |
|---|---|
| Feb. 12 | Platform Ventures announced it would not proceed with the federal sale. |
| Later that day | A small fire was started at the warehouse, federal authorities said. |
| May | O’Connor entered a guilty plea. |
| Wednesday | A federal judge imposed the prison sentence, supervised release and damages order. |
The sentence closes the criminal proceeding described in the federal release with a combination of incarceration, monitoring and financial repayment. It also underscores the heightened scrutiny surrounding properties considered for federal immigration operations, particularly when a proposed use has already prompted public protest.
For residents following the warehouse’s future, the sentencing resolves what happened during the attempted fire but does not establish whether the building will again be considered for federal use. The source material provides no new information about a sale, a detention-center plan or the property’s current operating status.
