Jesse Kitagawa allegedly sold ghost gun to Butte County school shooter

BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. — The man accused of selling the gun to a school shooter who opened fire last month at Feather River Adventist School in Oroville was arrested Thursday in Arizona.

Phoenix resident Jesse Kitagawa Jr., 45, was arrested and accused of unlawfully selling the handgun to 56-year-old Glenn Litton who used it on Dec. 4, to critically wound two kindergarteners before taking his own life, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

Kitagawa, a convicted felon, sold the firearm for $300 to Litton, also a convicted felon, on April 10, at a motel southeast of Phoenix, authorities said. It was illegal for either of them to have a gun.

After the sale, deputies determined Litton practiced with the firearm at a Phoenix gun range and purchased ammunition. He returned to California by Greyhound bus on April 19, according to the sheriff’s office.

The handgun Litton used in the shooting was a Glock 19 “ghost gun,” deputies said. Ghost gun receivers lack serial numbers and can be assembled by individuals using gun parts from different firearms. Butte County Sheriff’s Office detectives with help from the FBI analyzed the weapon and traced it to Arizona.

A 77-year-old man who bought the gun from the widow of the original owner lawfully sold the weapon to Kitagawa approximately two days before Kitagawa sold it to Litton, deputies said.

“…It appears that (the man) did not violate Arizona state law when he sold the firearm to Kitagawa, because Kitagawa has a driver’s license issued by the state of Arizona and assured Lyons that he could lawfully possess firearms,” deputies wrote Tuesday in a news release.

Kitagawa’s first court hearing was Friday, deputies said. A judge found probable cause and issued a bond for Kitagawa; he reportedly awaits arraignment to face charges expected to be filed by Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office.

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