Two gun part manufacturers and FedEx are being accused of selling and shipping pieces of a gun to a Maine teenager who then allegedly used the weapon to fatally shoot a man.
Billi-Jo Cluney is suing on behalf of her deceased husband James Cluney Sr., who was killed May 6, 2022, in Brooks. Atilio Delgado, who was 16 at the time, is accused of the shooting.
FedEx, Brownells, Inc. and MDX Corp., also known as MDX Arms, are named in a lawsuit originally filed May 1 in Waldo County Superior Court. It was moved to the U.S. District Court in Bangor on June 6 at FedEx’s request.
The 18-count lawsuit alleges wrongful death caused by FedEx, Brownells and MDX, along with negligence by the companies.
It seeks unspecified but “fair and just compensation” for the pain and suffering Billi-Jo Cluney experienced, as well as punitive damages for the suffering both Cluneys endured.
Delgado allegedly ordered gun parts through Brownells and MDX, which FedEx then shipped to Maine and delivered without requiring a signature of someone of legal age. FedEx should have known that packages from firearms dealers likely contained gun parts, which means the packages would then require age verification, the lawsuit said.
Delgado bought the “ghost gun” pieces online for around $600, using prepaid gift cards, according to the lawsuit. It adds that Brownells sold handgun pieces without doing a background check to ensure the purchaser was allowed to buy guns under Maine law.
MDX also sold gun parts to Delgado without verifying he was legally allowed to buy guns, the lawsuit said.
The Cluney family took in Delgado and his younger brother around 2018, who were “underprivileged,” the lawsuit said. It was an informal arrangement and the Cluneys did not receive state aid for the brothers.
James Cluney Sr. allegedly got into an argument with his daughter, saying she needed to hurry to avoid being late for school, while they were outside, the lawsuit said. Afterward, Delgado allegedly shot James Cluney Sr. six times.
Cluney ran outside and saw her husband bleeding and held him in her arms as he died, the lawsuit said. She experienced “unimaginable emotional distress” because of that.
The criminal case against Delgado, who is charged with one count of murder, is pending. A judge ordered that he be tried as an adult, which his attorneys appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in May.
