When Jon Meyer accidentally fired shots through the ceiling of a Grants Pass apartment on June 27, 2013, he killed 5-year-old Alysa Bobbitt, who was in an upstairs room. He also set in motion a state and federal investigation that would grow like an intricate spider web. Over the course of several weeks, dozens of people were arrested on charges of drug trafficking, “straw” purchasing of guns for criminals, violent gang activity and other crimes.

Two murder plots were uncovered during the probe, and some of the guns purchased in the local “straw buyer” ring ended up at crime scenes in California, authorities said.

Among the 31 people indicted in Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties in connection with “Operation Rap It Up” are an Ivory Coast national who was once a soccer star at South Medford High School, and a man who has ties to a Las Vegas-area gang known for violent turf battles.

While the defendants named in the indictments Ñ five of whom remain at large Ñ are not necessarily all connected to one another, a central figure appears to be Medford resident Dominique Agnimel, the former South Medford soccer star, who is accused of receiving guns purchased by a 28-year-old “straw buyer” named Kalina Baines. “Straw purchases” of firearms are schemes in which one person buys a gun on behalf of another person in order to conceal the true buyer’s identity.

Agnimel is being prosecuted at both the state and federal levels, and the list of charges against him is staggering. The dozens of counts include attempted murder; conspiracy to commit murder; assault; unlawful sale or delivery of a firearm; delivery of methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school; child neglect; endangering the welfare of a minor; conspiracy to falsify a firearms application; being an alien in possession of a firearm and other charges.

In a May 19 motion to have Agnimel released from custody while awaiting trial Ñ a motion that the court denied Ñ his federal public defender said Agnimel is a 25-year-old married father who emigrated to the U.S. from Ivory Coast, Africa, in 2004 and has lived in Southern Oregon ever since. He developed his soccer skills as a young boy in his tight-knit community in Africa, and went on to shine as a striker for the South Medford High boys’ soccer team.

His former coach at the high school, Dave Kaufman, told the Daily Courier he was disheartened by the news of Agnimel’s arrest. Agnimel transferred to South Medford High from Klamath Falls his senior year, and Kaufman described him as an “amazing” soccer player who was popular with girls.

“He was quite the athlete, and I think unfortunately for him, nobody had guided him as a younger guy to instill the emphasis of doing well in school along with sports Ñ and that, maybe, could have led him to college and maybe a different route,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman said he tried to give the spirited teenager some guidance, but that Agnimel appeared to be drawn toward the wrong path.

“I think for him there was maybe an attraction to the lifestyle that has probably led him to this, and it’s unfortunate because he was a sweet kid,” the coach said.

After high school, Agnimel moved to Coos Bay, where he had been recruited to play soccer at Southwestern Oregon Community College, according to the court document. There, he met his future wife. She became pregnant, and the two later married and rented a home together in Medford. His wife worked, and Agnimel stayed home and took care of their son.

A federal indictment against Baines, Agnimel’s codefendant, alleges that Agnimel and Baines conspired to have Baines act as a “straw buyer” and purchase guns from local stores and pawn shops on several occasions between December 2013 and February 2014. She then allegedly turned over the weapons to Agnimel, who, at least in some cases, sold the guns to felons, according to federal prosecutors.

On the state level, eight other defendants have been indicted in connection with the Agnimel-Baines case: Steven Brooks, Kristina Freniere, Sara Garman, Vincent Johnson, Michael Guidotti, Mahwren Wear, Daniel Ziegler and Henry Arthur Carr. The defendants are accused of various crimes, and all but Carr and Baines have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Carr, who served time in federal prison after being caught up in a 2003 gang sweep in Las Vegas, has been charged with racketeering, delivering oxycodone and promoting prostitution. In the federal indictment in the 2003 case, prosecutors alleged that Carr was a leader of the Las Vegas-based Rolling 60s Crips gang who directed and committed violent crimes related to drug dealing and establishing and maintaining turf. Carr’s attorney maintained that he was a drug addict and a low-level player in the gang. He eventually pleaded guilty to a racketeering-related charge and was imprisoned until 2012.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said that during “Operation Rap It Up,” investigators learned two gangs from California were trying to set up shop in Southern Oregon. He declined to name the gangs.

“They’re coming up here because there’s a lack of law enforcement,” Winters said. For instance, he said, “You can commit a burglary and you’re lucky, in some cases, if you get someone that’s able to come out and take the report.”

Winters said local, state and federal agencies are working together to combat the problem. “Operation Rap It Up” involved the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon State Police, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments of Medford, Klamath Falls, Grants Pass and Central Point.

The sheriff, who is locked in a re-election battle, said the scope of the investigation and the dozens of arrests should send the message that Southern Oregon isn’t a haven for criminals.

“We can’t allow, for example, these folks to set up over in Josephine County,” he said, alluding to the county’s much-publicized law enforcement woes due to three failed property tax levies in two years. “Because Josephine County has an effect on Jackson County. It has a regional effect.”

Winters noted that although the investigation started small, it evolved into a sprawling operation that flushed out all sorts of criminals.

“There’s felons in possession of weapons, there’s straw buyers, there’s drugs. It’s all interconnected. One straw buyer is what led to this whole case,” he said.

And that alleged straw buyer, Jon Meyer, is still behind bars after being convicted of manslaughter for the accidental shooting of young Alysa Bobbitt. Although his actions sparked Operation Rap It Up, the probe has not yet resulted in any new state or federal charges against Meyer.

Meyer said his Russian-made SKS military rifle went off when he used it as a crutch to get off the couch. The bullets ripped through the floor of a second-story apartment, killing the 5-year old-Bobbitt.

Meyer’s connection to the defendants named in the indictments announced this week is not yet clear.

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Reach reporter Melissa McRobbie at 541-474-3721 or mmcrobbie@thedailycourier.com