Western District of Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to commit a series of armed robberies of local businesses in the summer of 2018, as well as an armed robbery in which a convenience store employee was beaten and fatally shot.

Louis Candler, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 30 years in federal prison without parole.

On May 30, 2023, Candler pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and abetting a robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, and one count of aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm during a violent crime.

Candler admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to commit multiple armed robberies from June 1 to July 18, 2018. Candler admitted that he and co-defendant Joe Lee Nichols, 30, of Kansas City, Mo., committed two armed robberies at Kansas City, Mo., hotels on July 14, 2018 – Wood Springs Suites, 11301 Colorado Avenue, and Arrowhead Inn, 6006 E.  31st Street.

Candler also admitted that he and Nichols committed an armed robbery in which a store clerk was killed at Inner City Oil convenience store, 5901 Swope Parkway in Kansas City, Mo., on July 16, 2018.

Video surveillance shows Nichols pointed a handgun at an employee of Inner-City Oil, who resisted and engaged in a struggle for Nichols’s firearm. Nichols fired his gun multiple times before the employee fell to the floor. The employee then retrieved a handgun and began to fire back at Nichols. Nichols began to stomp and kick at the head and body of the employee, who was still lying on the floor. The employee lost his firearm, which was recovered by Candler, who then used it to also shoot the store clerk. When they were unable to access the cash register, Nichols and Candler left the store. The employee can be seen on the surveillance video, still moving while lying on the floor, until eventually becoming motionless when he died from his injuries. A witness who saw their car leaving the area and discovered the body of the employee immediately called 911.

Candler is the sixth and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. Nichols was sentenced on Feb. 22, 2023, to 45 years in federal prison without parole.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Brackett and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and agents and task force officers of the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today after law enforcement officers found 29 firearms in his residence, along with significant amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Charles J. Dunne, 60, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Dunne on Sept. 20, 2023. Dunne remains in federal custody without bond.

Today’s indictment charges Dunne with one count of possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Dunne has multiple felony convictions including a prior federal felony conviction for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Dunne’s residence on Sept. 19, 2023. Officers found a black backpack in Dunne’s bedroom that contained 415.6 grams of powder fentanyl and 1.5782 kilograms of methamphetamine. Under the backpack, says the affidavit, officers found two handguns. Officers also found several other firearms in the bedroom, including a shotgun, an AR-15 rifle, and a sawed-off short-barreled shotgun.

In a second bedroom, according to the affidavit, officers found another large supply of firearms, including additional AR-15-style rifles, shotguns, hunting rifles and handguns. Officers found several more handguns in a third bedroom. Officers also found an additional 774.9 grams of a substance believed to be fentanyl. In total, officers found 29 firearms and approximately $16,000 in cash.

During the search, the affidavit says, Dunne began to experience a medical emergency consistent with a fentanyl overdose. EMS responded and a total of 12 doses of naloxone were administered at the scene and during transport of Dunne to the hospital.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Baker. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and for illegally possessing a firearm.

Ryan Edwad Knudsen, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

On June 20, 2023, Knudsen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Knudsen admitted that he obtained fentanyl from a source in St. Louis, Mo., and sold it to customers in Columbia. Knudsen told investigators he typically got between 350-400 capsules for about $1,400 and that each capsule contained about .1 gram of fentanyl.

Law enforcement officers were tracking Knudsen in August 2021 when he traveled to St. Louis, then on his return left a bag in a light pole at a Kingdom City, Mo., car wash. The bag, which was retrieved by officers, contained 22 fentanyl capsules. Officers later stopped the vehicle in which Knudsen was a passenger. Knudsen had a bag in his front pocket that contained hundreds of similar capsules. He also had a loaded Glock 9mm handgun and ammunition in his backpack. Officers seized a total of 384 capsules that contained approximately 34 grams of fentanyl.

According to government filings, Boone County ranks in the top ten among all Missouri counties for fatal overdose deaths, and fentanyl and other non-heroin opioids cause a significant majority of those deaths. Due to the potential for lethality and the inherently inconsistent quality of unregulated illegal fentanyl, the risk of overdose is present each time an individual uses street fentanyl – and each of the hundreds of capsules that Knudsen distributed had the potential to take a life.

This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer. It was investigated by the Columbia, Mo., Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Bakersfield, California, man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for smuggling more than six kilograms of fentanyl through Kansas City aboard a train enroute to St. Louis, Mo.

Cesar Angulo Ramos, 18, was charged with possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Ramos on Sept. 26, 2023.

Ramos was a passenger on a train from Los Angeles, Calif., passing through Kansas City, Mo., enroute to St. Louis on Sept. 25, 2023. According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Ramos was contacted by members of the DEA Kansas City Interdiction Task Force and the Missouri Western Interdiction Narcotics (MOWIN) Task Force after a police dog reacted to the apparent odor of controlled substances as it pulled toward Ramos at the train station.

Officers searched Ramos’s duffle bag, the affidavit says, and found 43 clear plastic bags that contained counterfeit M30 pills with fentanyl, which weighed a total of approximately 4.769 kilograms. Officers also searched a pillow Ramos was carrying that contained two bundles of fentanyl wrapped in black tape, which weighed a total of approximately 2.123 kilograms.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Three Springfield, Mo., men were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a conspiracy that distributed nearly 38 kilograms of fentanyl in southwest Missouri and resulted in several overdose deaths.

Darryl Turner, also known as “D,” 59, Elmer E. Freeman, also known as “Duck,” 56, and Robert D. Huddleston, 49, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips. Turner was sentenced to 23 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Freeman was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison without parole. Huddleston was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole.

Turner and Freeman each pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in Greene County from Jan. 31, 2019, to May 18, 2020. Huddleston pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl.

Co-defendant James D. Collins, also known as “Red,” 49, of Battlefield, Mo., was the leader of the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Collins transported at least 300 grams of fentanyl by vehicle from either St. Louis, Mo., or Chicago, Illinois, to Springfield twice a week. Collins then distributed fentanyl to co-conspirators, including Turner, who is described in court documents as Collins’s right-hand man. Turner distributed fentanyl to Freeman, who then distributed fentanyl to others.

During the time of the conspiracy, according to court documents, Turner was participating in the Greene County, Mo., drug court program. One call intercepted by investigators revealed Turner conducting fentanyl business with Collins while he was simultaneously on the computer completing tasks associated with the drug court program.

According to court documents, Collins is responsible for the distribution of 37.8 kilograms of fentanyl. Multiple overdose deaths occurred related to Collins’s distribution of fentanyl. After he was incarcerated in the Greene County Jail, Collins bragged to his cellmate about multiple overdoses caused by the drugs he was distributing. Court documents cite three individuals, who are not identified by name, who overdosed and died.

For example, in March 2020, Freeman sold fentanyl (supplied by Turner) to Randi Highfill, who in turn, distributed the fentanyl to an individual identified in court documents as “J.G.” J.G. died, and Highfill pleaded guilty in state court to involuntary manslaughter and delivery of a controlled substance in connection with this incident. On Oct. 22, 2019, another individual identified in court documents as “J.W.” overdosed and died.

Collins was sentenced on June 21, 2023, to 30 years in federal prison without parole. Ten defendants in this case have been sentenced and two defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

According to court documents, Collins led a conspiracy that was distributing significant amounts of fentanyl laced with an assortment of other dangerous substances, including xylazine. The DEA recently issued a Public Safety Alert warning about the newly widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine. Xylazine, also known as “Tranq,” is a powerful sedative that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for veterinary use. Because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone (Narcan) does not reverse its effects. As a result, xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. Moreover, people who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation.

Lab results indicate that fentanyl seized from Collins’s residence contained fentanyl, tramadol, cocaine, and xylazine. Fentanyl seized from one of his co-conspirators contained fentanyl, tramadol, and xylazine.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica R. Eatmon and Cameron A. Beaver. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the Phelps County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man who possessed thousands of videos and photos of child pornography was sentenced in federal court today for trading those images of child sexual abuse over the internet.

Craig Allen Rhoden, 55, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Rhoden to pay $150,000 in restitution to 30 victims.

The court also sentenced Rhoden to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration. Rhoden will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

On April 18, 2023, Rhoden pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rhoden’s residence on Jan. 5, 2023, after receiving CyberTip reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Rhoden had uploaded hundreds of images of child pornography. Rhoden admitted that he participated in the exchange of child pornography, including trading images and videos of infant victims, and that he uploaded images of child pornography to a website. Rhoden also admitted that he took “upskirt” photos of children at the Walmart where he was employed and uploaded those photos to a website he operated.

A forensic analysis of Rhoden’s electronic devices found more than 16,000 videos and photos of child pornography.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for a series of fraud schemes that utilized stolen identity information.

Quanisha M. Capelton, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to four years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Capelton to pay $40,675 in restitution to her victims.

On Nov. 15, 2022, Capelton pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a financial institution, one count of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of wire fraud. Capelton admitted she impersonated individuals and used their stolen personal information and credit scores to open accounts or apply for loans.

Capelton specifically admitted that she used one victim’s stolen identity information to open a bank account and apply for a $2,500 loan. According to court documents, she used this victim’s stolen identity information to open an AT&T account, fraudulently obtain at least eight loans from various lenders, and attempt to obtain loans from at least two financial institutions. She was arrested at one of the banks while attempting to obtain a loan in the victim’s name. In total, Capelton intended to cause a loss of $36,128 through the utilization of this victim’s personal information.

Capelton also specifically admitted that she used another victim’s stolen identity information to apply for a $4,500 consumer loan. According to court documents, about 20 months after her above-referenced arrest, Capelton began using this victim’s stolen identity information to fraudulently finance a diamond ring through Kay Jewelers and apply for at least three separate loans. Capelton intended to cause a financial loss of $18,369 through the utilization of this victim’s personal information.

According to court documents, Capelton executed multiple fraudulent schemes. In addition to the bank fraud scheme and the wire fraud scheme to which she specifically admitted, she participated in a check-cashing scheme from April 2019 to December 2021. Capelton deposited worthless or stolen checks into numerous bank accounts. She then impersonated the account holders in order to withdraw as much money as possible before the bank became aware the deposited checks were worthless or stolen. Capelton personally deposited at least 52 worthless or stolen checks in eight different bank accounts, totaling $108,200, of which Capelton made fraudulent withdrawals of approximately $35,509.

The total intended loss of her fraud schemes was $162,697.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Heberle. It was investigated by the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for taking sexually explicit photos of a young child and sharing the images in an internet chat group.

Gordon Wesley Roughton II, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Thursday, Oct. 12, to 17 years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 22, 2022, Roughton pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of a minor. At the time of his arrest, Roughton was employed as a seasonal bus driver for a children’s program for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, as he had been every summer from 2014 to 2019. Roughton also had been employed as a substitute teacher at schools in the Springfield area, and in the past had worked as a bus driver for Springfield Public School District and a Springfield Catholic school.

The investigation began on June 15, 2021, when a detective with the Springfield, Mo., Police Department received a CyberTip Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. MeWe, a social media and social networking service, had discovered images of child pornography uploaded by Roughton.

On June 16, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Roughton’s residence. Roughton admitted he had participated in a chat group on MeWe where the group members traded child pornography. Roughton explained that he had no images of child pornography to trade and needed some to remain in the chat. Roughton took photos of the child victim to trade in the chat group and uploaded the images to MeWe.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Belton, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms that he stashed under the deck of a residence while fleeing from police officers through a residential neighborhood.

Jonathon M. Pentlin, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to eight years and four months in federal prison without parole.

On June 2, 2023, Pentlin pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A police helicopter was following a stolen 2015 Ford Focus, which Pentlin was driving, from Belton to a Phillips 66 gas station at 5151 E. Red Bridge Road in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 23, 2022. Law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance on Pentlin and another person as part of an ongoing investigation into a residential burglary in which multiple firearms were stolen. A passenger got out of the Focus and into another vehicle at the gas station. Pentlin continued driving the stolen Focus westbound on Red Bridge Road.

As the helicopter followed the Focus, Pentlin began driving at a high speed. The Focus crashed into an innocent motorist in the area of 107th Terrace and Grandview Road in Kansas City, Mo., causing significant damage to that motorist’s vehicle as well as injury to the motorist. Pentlin got out of his vehicle and ran westbound through several residential backyards. A Kansas City police sergeant who got out of his vehicle in an attempt to apprehend Pentlin saw that Pentlin was armed with a handgun as he was running through the backyards.

Additional officers arrived and located Pentlin in the backyard of a residence on E. 107th Terrace. Officers ordered Pentlin to get on the ground, but he refused to follow their commands and continued to act erratically. Pentlin balled up his fists, assumed a fighting posture, and reached for his waistband as if he still had a firearm, while stating, “I’m going to kill you all.”

A Kansas City police officer shot Pentlin with a taser and he fell on his back. While on the ground, Pentlin continued to resist arrest and tried to kick officers. While taking Pentlin into custody, he bit an officer on the right thigh, which caused an open wound with bruising and swelling. While officers waited for EMS to arrive, Pentlin continuously slammed his head into the grass and attempted to bite several officers’ hands and fingers. Pentlin was transported to a local hospital by EMS.

An ATF agent with a police dog searched the area and found two firearms, a loaded Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a loaded Beretta 9mm semi-automatic handgun, under the deck of a residence in a densely populated neighborhood less than a mile from an elementary school. Officers also found two plastic baggies that contained approximately 4.03 grams of methamphetamine, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia in the stolen car Pentlin was driving.

Court documents also refer to a pending case in Cass County, Mo., in which Pentlin fled from law enforcement officers at speeds reaching 100 miles per hour. Pentlin drove recklessly, entering the oncoming lane of traffic. After officers terminated the pursuit, Pentlin lost control of his vehicle and struck a white van. The collision caused the van to slide and roll one time down an embankment, causing injuries to the driver and two juvenile passengers. Pentlin ran from his vehicle, which also flipped, but was eventually apprehended. Police officers found a loaded firearm in Pentlin’s vehicle.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Pentlin has prior felony convictions for tampering with a motor vehicle, possessing a controlled substance, and distributing marijuana.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan A. Baker. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after driving his truck through a gate and onto a runway at the Springfield-Branson National Airport.

Gary Eugene Edwards, 58, was charged with damaging and interfering with an air navigation facility in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

The indictment alleges that Edwards caused damage to the Springfield-Branson National Airport and interfered with the operation of the airport on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023.

Airport police arrested Edwards following a short pursuit after he rammed an airport gate while driving a gold Ford F-150 pickup truck.

An airport police officer activated his emergency lights and siren and attempted to stop Edwards. However, Edwards refused to stop and drove onto the tarmac and runway of the airport, then drove back through the damaged gate as he fled from the officer. Airport police officers pursued Edwards as he drove over several curbs before stopping in front of the terminal building. Edwards ran into the building and was taken into custody.

The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the FBI and the Springfield-Branson National Airport Police.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Lenexa, Kansas, man pleaded guilty in federal court today after child pornography was found on the cell phone he carried into a secure area at the U.S. Department of Energy national security campus in Kansas City, Mo.

Shaun Walker, 41, currently a resident of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to one count of attempting to distribute child pornography over the internet.

Walker was employed by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology, which is contracted by the Nuclear National Security Administration, at the time of the offense.

According to court documents, Walker entered an inner secure area of the U.S. Department of Energy National Security Campus in Kansas City, Mo., with his personal cell phone on Nov. 29, 2021. Walker contacted Kansas City National Security Campus Security to self-report the violation.

Walker gave his cell phone to security personnel, who reviewed the cell phone to determine if any classified material was present on the phone. During the review, a security officer observed numerous images and videos depicting child pornography. Walker’s phone was seized in order to conduct a forensic examination.

Investigators found an encrypted folder on Walker’s cell phone that contained 21 images and a video of a 5-year-old girl who is known to Walker. Investigators found dozens of additional images and videos of child pornography on Walker’s cell phone. Investigators also found thousands of WhatsApp chats between Walker and females he contacted through a livestreaming pornography website. Walker requested photos and videos of nude underage females conducting sexual acts. As a result of his WhatsApp chats, Walker received and distributed images and videos of child pornography.

Under federal statutes, Walker is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A St. Joseph, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and for illegally possessing firearms.

Roderick A. Hughes, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 17 years in federal prison without parole.

On May 27, 2022, Hughes pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin in the St. Joseph area from Sept. 1, 2019, to March 26, 2021, and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Hughes is responsible for distributing at least 461.9 grams of heroin, which is over 4,600 potentially lethal, 0.1-gram “doses” of the drug.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hughes’s apartment on Feb. 23, 2021. Officers found a silver revolver on the kitchen table. They also found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun on a nightstand in the bedroom, a Stoeger 9mm handgun and a Jennings Bryco 9mm handgun on a shelf in the bedroom, and a black safe under the bed that contained 23.4 grams of heroin and $4,703 in cash. Officers also searched the garage and found three plastic bags with a total of 96.3 grams of heroin hidden in the rafters.

Co-defendant Franklin T. Hicks Jr., also known as “Frankie,” 42, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty to the same charges and will be sentenced on Nov. 1, 2023.

Hicks was arrested outside of a hotel in St. Joseph on Jan. 22, 2021. He was in possession of 35.8 grams of heroin and $2,687 in cash. Officers also found a loaded Rock Island Armory .380-caliber handgun under the driver’s seat of his car and a Ruger 9mm handgun in the glovebox.

Co-defendant Harvey E. Johnson, 50, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to his role in the heroin-trafficking conspiracy and will be sentenced on Oct. 26, 2023. Johnson, who was in possession of approximately 51 grams of heroin at the time of his arrest, admitted that the drug-trafficking conspiracy involved at least two kilograms of heroin.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for leading a cyberstalking conspiracy that utilized GPS tracking devices to carry out the murder of another Kansas City, Mo., man by tracking him and shooting him to death in front of his minor daughter.

Lester E. Brown, also known as “Lucky,” 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to life plus 15 years in federal prison without parole.

On May 5, 2023, Brown was found guilty at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, one count of cyberstalking resulting in death, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court sentenced Brown to life in prison for cyberstalking resulting in death, 10 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm, and five years in prison for conspiracy, all of which must be served consecutively.

Co-defendants Michael Young, 32, of Independence, Mo., and Ronell Pearson, 36, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, have each pleaded guilty and were sentenced in June 2023 for their roles in the cyberstalking conspiracy. Young also pleaded guilty to cyberstalking resulting in death. Young was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Pearson was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole.

The court also ordered Brown, Young and Pearson to pay $19,012 in restitution to compensate the murder victim’s family for funeral and burial expenses, for which they are jointly and severally liable.

Murder of Christopher Harris

Brown, Young, and Pearson participated in a conspiracy to engage in the cyberstalking of Christopher Harris. Brown deployed multiple GPS devices on vehicles used by Harris to track his location. Brown tracked Harris for an extended period of time.

In January 2018, conspirators surveilled Harris’s girlfriend at her place of employment, and followed her to the residence she shared with Harris. In February 2018, they deployed a GPS tracking device on Harris’s black Nissan Altima, and used a tracking service to determine his real-time location. Another tracking device was deployed on Harris’s vehicle on March 12, 2018.

On March 14, 2018, Brown tracked Harris to a dance studio in Raytown, Mo. With Brown driving and Young and Pearson passengers, they followed Harris’s vehicle as he drove his daughter home from dance class and dropped her off at her mother’s residence in Independence. Brown pulled up behind Harris’s vehicle, blocking Harris in the driveway. Brown got out of the car and shot a firearm multiple times into Harris’s vehicle, causing Harris to scream, “My daughter’s in the car!  My daughter is in the car!” Brown fired several more rounds at Harris as he ran, shielding his daughter with his body, to the front door of the house. Harris’s daughter was able to make it inside the house unharmed, but Harris fell to the ground before he reached the house. Brown stood over him and fired two last rounds at him while he lay on the ground.

Prior to his murder, conspirators had been sending threatening messages to Harris using the social media service Snapchat. These messages included photographs of GPS devices and demands for a $10,000-per-month payment to Brown.

According to court documents, while in custody Brown bragged to multiple individuals about killing Christopher in front of his daughter and told them he should have killed her, too. Brown also took multiple concerted actions to obstruct the investigation and prosecution in this case. He obtained and utilized smuggled cell phones, by which he threatened the life of an FBI task force officer who was a lead investigator in his case. Brown also posted messages on Facebook in an apparent attempt to intimidate co-conspirators and others so they would not testify at trial.

Brown’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm is related to him illegally possessing the Glock .45-caliber pistol used to murder Harris. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Brown was on supervised release following his conviction and incarceration for being a felon in possession of a firearm when he stalked and murdered Harris.

Murder of Ryan Cobbins

Evidence was also presented during Brown’s trial regarding the murder of Ryan Cobbins, a friend and associate of Harris. One of the Snapchat messages sent to Harris threatened, “Man, you … are gonna end up like Ryan,” which Harris took to be a reference to the murder of his friend Ryan Cobbins in 2013.

Cobbins went missing on Oct. 24, 2013, following a haircut appointment. In November 2013, Brown accepted $20,000 from Harris and another person as “ransom” payment for the return of Cobbins. Brown claimed he could act as the middleman between the kidnappers and Harris, and that he could arrange the safe return of Cobbins. On Dec. 31, 2014, Cobbins was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Wolesky and Nicholas P. Heberle. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his sexual exploitation of an 11-year-old child victim in Minnesota.

Jeffrey Scott Saltkill, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Saltkill will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

On Dec. 1, 2022, Saltkill pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of children. Saltkill admitted that he communicated online and via text with an 11-year-old Minnesota girl after she posted her cell phone number on the chat website Omegle. Posing as two separate persons (including a teenage boy), Saltkill engaged in graphic sexual conversations and exchanged pornographic images with the child victim. She gave Saltkill the name of her town and school, and he indicated that he would visit her in person.

When the child victim’s mother handed her daughter’s cell phone over to law enforcement, an undercover FBI agent responded to Saltkill, using the persona of the child victim. Saltkill told the undercover agent that he was in the child victim’s town, but the undercover agent told him they were out of town. Saltkill continued to communicate with the undercover agent, whom he believed to be the child victim, sending links to videos of adult pornography and urging her to engage in sexual activity.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Saltkill’s residence. Saltkill told investigators that he was addicted to communicating with children and obtaining pornographic images. He said he had similar sexual communications with four or five additional minors within the last two years. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for leading a large heroin trafficking organization with his wife.

Larry K. Hayward, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole.

On Aug. 24, 2022, Hayward was convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin, three counts of distributing heroin, and one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute.

According to evidence introduced during the trial, Hayward and his wife, co-defendant Jasmine D. Steed, 36, were co-leaders of a criminal organization that consistently distributed heroin in the Springfield community from approximately Nov. 15, 2016, to Oct. 17, 2018. Court documents conservatively estimate they distributed at least three kilograms of heroin during that nearly two-year period. Hayward and Steed obtained heroin from a source in Chicago, Illinois. They distributed heroin themselves and recruited others to help distribute heroin.

Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at both of Hayward’s residences in Springfield and Waynesville, Mo. At his Waynesville residence, officers found a loaded Sig Sauer .380-caliber pistol, $5,000 in cash, and drug paraphernalia. Steed was present during the search of their Springfield residence, where officers found heroin.

Hayward has four prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and a prior felony conviction for selling cocaine to an undercover officer. He also has a prior felony conviction for burglary, three misdemeanor convictions for possession of drugs, and a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Hayward is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. Steed was sentenced on March 25, 2021, to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Co-defendants Richard J. Smith, 48, of Springfield, Rashad J. Moore, 31, of Branson, Mo. and Damario J. Brown, 33, whose address was unknown, also pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron A. Beaver. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Ottawa, Kansas, man who was apprehended after he called a tow truck for his getaway car has pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing a Mound City, Mo., bank.

Marvin J. McWhorter III, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, Sept. 28, to one count of bank robbery.

By pleading guilty, McWhorter admitted that he stole $4,445 from Citizens Bank & Trust, 904 State Street in Mound City, on Dec. 21, 2022.

According to his plea agreement, McWhorter approached a teller station at the bank and, while holding what appeared to be a handgun, directed the teller to give him all the money in the drawer. McWhorter ran out of the bank and got into a black Chevrolet Malibu with the word “CHEVY” in block white lettering across the top of the front windshield. Witnesses saw McWhorter drive away from the area.

The next morning, McWhorter called a St. Joseph, Mo., towing company to request a tow for the Malibu, which was in Forest City, Mo., about 13 miles southwest of Mound City. The tow driver picked up McWhorter at a nearby café and went to retrieve the vehicle.

A local public official, who had heard the vehicle description of the bank robbery suspect the day before, recognized McWhorter’s vehicle being towed and contacted law enforcement. The Holt County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department then contacted the tow company. Dispatch contacted the driver of the tow truck by phone to confirm that he was towing a black Chevrolet Malibu, with the word “CHEVY” in block white lettering across the top of the front windshield, through Oregon, Mo. Dispatch also confirmed that McWhorter was with the tow driver in the tow truck. Dispatch directed the tow driver to pull over and wait for law enforcement to arrive.

When the tow driver pulled over, McWhorter attempted to take control of the tow truck. McWhorter fought with the tow driver and a passerby who witnessed the altercation and had stopped to assist. The tow driver and passerby were able to get McWhorter to the ground and hold him until law enforcement arrived.

When officers arrested McWhorter, they found in the tow truck a cooler-type bag that contained $3,813 taken in the bank robbery. Officers also found additional evidence in the Malibu, including a box of 9mm ammunition, but no firearm.

Under federal statutes, McWhorter is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg R. Coonrod. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Holt County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Andrew County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Mound City, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been charged with three fentanyl overdose deaths in Belton, Mo., alongside six other metropolitan area residents indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that included illegal firearms and money laundering.

Tiger Dean Draggoo, 23, his brother, Colt Justin Draggoo, 20, Jose Amparan, also known as “Lil Mex” and “Jose Garcia,” 20, Luis Manuel Morales, also known as “Trulu,” “Lulu,” “Luis,” and “Luis Mor,” 23, all of Kansas City, Mo.; Andrew R.A. Williams, also known as “DrewB Grittin,” 22, of Grandview, Mo.; Alexander D. Barnett, also known as “Alex” and “Cobra,” 22, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; and Javier Armanmdo Alvarez, also known as “Mexxican,” Gomi,” and “Gummi,” 21, of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a 13-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Sept. 27. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrest and initial court appearances of Barnett and Morales. Colt Draggoo also was arrested today and will have an initial court appearance tomorrow.

The superseding indictment replaces the original indictment returned on Feb. 7, 2023, which only charged Tiger Draggoo, and includes additional charges and defendants.

The federal indictment charges Tiger Draggoo with three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. Tiger Draggoo allegedly distributed fentanyl on Sept. 3, 2022, the use of which caused the death of another person. Tiger Draggoo allegedly distributed fentanyl between Aug. 22 and Sept. 13, 2022, the use of which caused the death of another person. Tiger Draggoo allegedly distributed fentanyl between Dec. 7 and 20, 2022, the use of which caused the death of another person.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint that was filed against Draggoo on Jan. 23, 2023, three Belton teenagers who were associated with Draggoo died from acute fentanyl intoxication. On at least three more occasions, the affidavit says, Belton police officers were called because a juvenile was under the influence of fentanyl (one of those juveniles, who turned 18 after being contacted by police officers, is among the three fentanyl deaths).

The indictment alleges that all seven defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl from Dec. 1, 2021, to May 3, 2023. The indictment also alleges that Tiger Draggoo, Alvarez, Amparan, Morales and Williams participated in a money-laundering conspiracy.

Tiger Draggoo is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of possessing an unregistered firearm. According to the indictment, Draggoo was in possession of a Jimenez Arms .380-caliber pistol, an Armscor .45-caliber pistol, a Taurus .357-caliber revolver, a Palmetto State Armory multi-caliber rifle, and a short-barreled Savage 12-gauge on Jan. 20, 2023. Those charges are related to Draggoo’s arrest on the federal complaint. Officers seized the fentanyl and firearms from Draggoo’s residence and vehicle when he was taken into custody.

Additionally, Tiger Dragoo is charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of illegally possessing machine guns. Those charges were basis of the original criminal complaint filed against Draggoo.

According to an affidavit filed in support of that complaint, police officers were conducting surveillance at an apartment complex on Sept. 22, 2022, when Tiger and Colt Draggoo left the apartment and got into a Jeep Renegade. Officers followed the Jeep and saw it commit numerous traffic violations while displaying erratic driving. A Jackson County sheriff’s deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled from the deputy.

A few minutes later, the Jeep returned to the apartment complex and Tiger and Colt Draggoo entered the apartment. Tiger Draggoo carried a large laundry bag from the apartment and placed it in the backseat of the Jeep. When a Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy drove into the parking lot, Tiger Draggoo ran back into the apartment building. When officers knocked on the door of Tiger Draggoo’s apartment, the affidavit says, his girlfriend initially told them he wasn’t there. After she allowed officers to enter the apartment, she admitted that Tiger Draggoo had run into the apartment and out the back door.

Officers searched the apartment and found 17 firearms, including two machine guns, ammunition of various calibers, $246,769 in cash, a ballistic vest with plates, a money counter, numerous pills that contained fentanyl, eight suspected LSD tabs, and marijuana. The 17 firearms included a Del-Ton 5.56-caliber rifle (converted into a machine gun), a Glock switch (used to convert a Glock pistol into a machine gun), three Marlin .22-caliber rifles, a Norinco 7.62-caliber rifle, a Mosin-Nagant rifle, an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber rifle, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, an Armscorp USA .308-caliber rifle, a Century Arms 7.62-caliber rifle, a Herbert Schmidt .22-caliber revolver, a New England Firearms .22-caliber revolver, a Kimber 9mm pistol, a Glock 9mm pistol, a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol, and a Metro Arms .45-caliber pistol.

Williams is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Williams allegedly was in possession of a Springfield Armory 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a Girsan .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun on April 19, 2023.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brad K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Belton, Mo., Police Department, the Raymore, Mo., Police Department, the Cass County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fifteen Kansas City, Mo., area residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute PCP and for illegally possessing firearms.

Russell L. Spencer II, also known as “Russ,” 44, Charles N. Hill, also known as “Chuck Wagon,” 42, Kessa R. Gines, 45, Charles J. Wiley, 44, Raven Hicks, 44, Dorothea L. Cain, also known as “Dea,” 52, Chaitez A. Sexton, also known as “Choddy,” 47, Bobby Graves III, 43, Robert E. Ridley, 46, Raymond D. Stewart, 31, Jabari M. Craddock, 28, Aaron J. Schultz, also known as “Tink,” 45, Austin W. Smith, 57, and Jimmy L. Abron, 41, all of Kansas City, Mo.; and Ra’Shaan R.Wilson, also known as “Rah Rah,” 28, of Belton, Mo., were charged in a 13-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, Sept. 26. That indictment was unsealed and made public today following the arrests of all 15 defendants.

The federal indictment alleges that each of the 15 defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of PCP in Jackson County, Mo., from Oct. 15, 2021, to Sept. 16, 2023.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Cain is charged with one count of possessing PCP with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Cain allegedly possessed a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic handgun on March 24, 2023. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Cain has a prior federal felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute PCP, two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, two prior felony convictions for stealing, and prior felony convictions for robbery, distributing or manufacturing a controlled substances,

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Sexton and Graves are charged together with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and one count of being felons in possession of a firearm. Sexton and Graves allegedly possessed a Kimber .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic handgun on Aug. 17, 2022. Sexton has a prior federal felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, two prior convictions for distributing a controlled substance near a school, and a prior felony conviction for burglary. Graves has a prior federal felony conviction for possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, two prior felony convictions for trafficking in drugs and a prior felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Ridley is charged with one count of possessing PCP with the intent to distribute.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Stewart is charged with one count of possessing PCP with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Stewart allegedly possessed a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic handgun on July 6, 2023.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Craddock is charged with one count of possessing PCP with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Craddock allegedly possessed a Heckler & Koch 9mm semi-automatic handgun on July 6, 2023.

In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Smith is charged with one count of possessing PCP with the intent to distribute.

The federal indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government a residential property, two vehicles, and a money judgment in the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of their participation in the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Gibson. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Strafford, Mo., business owner pleaded guilty in federal court today to filing a false tax return.

Philip Russell Turner, 53, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of filing a false tax return. Turner is the co-owner and president of a business identified in court documents as “Company A.”

By pleading guilty today, Turner admitted that he filed a false tax return for the calendar year 2018. Turner only claimed $15,088 income, although he had received additional income that should have been reported.

According to today’s plea agreement, Turner used funds from Company A to pay for approximately $612,144 in renovations to his personal residence in Strafford and cabins in Colorado in 2017 and 2018. He falsely told his accountant that the expenses for the renovations were expenses incurred by Company A for, among other things, renovating Company A’s offices, so that his accountant would not include the renovations as personal income on Turner’s tax returns.

As a result of Turner’s misrepresentations, his personal income for calendar years 2017 and 2018 was unreported by approximately $612,144. As a result, according to his plea agreement, Turner has an outstanding income tax liability of $97,765 for calendar year 2017 and $61,201 for calendar year 2018.

In addition, the plea agreement says, Turner owes $351,620 in unpaid taxes from calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Turner must pay the Internal Revenue Service $510,586 in restitution plus interest.

Under federal statutes, Turner is subject to a sentence of up to three years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Kempf. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas City, Mo., men who were part of a violent street gang have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and other violent criminal behavior that included illegal firearms and a drive-by shooting outside a daycare center where children were present.

David J. Duncan, IV, also known as “Deej” or “DJ,” 34, and Gary O. Toombs, 43, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Tuesday, Sept. 26. Duncan was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole. Toombs was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 15, 2022, Duncan and Toombs were found guilty at trial of participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana from Jan. 1, 2011, to Oct. 1, 2019.

Co-defendants Ladele D. Smith, also known as “Dellio” and “Dog,” 36, and Roy Franklin, Jr., 34, both of Kansas City, Mo., also were convicted during the same trial and were sentenced on Sept. 18, 2023. Smith was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison without parole. Franklin was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole.

The investigation into the 246 street gang, operating in the Kansas City metropolitan area, began in June 2017. The gang is an alliance of gang members from the 24th, 43rd, and 68th streets of Kansas City, Mo. Smith was identified as a leader of the gang, and Franklin, Duncan and Toombs as members of the gang.

Duncan and Smith are local rap artists who often posted to social media platforms, such as YouTube, with references to the 246 gang. In some of the videos, they display firearms and large amounts of cash. The social media posts also portrayed Smith and others wearing expensive jewelry, watches, hats, clothing and tactical vests that depicted 246 gang affiliation.

Members of the 246 gang used a residence in the 4400 block of Kensington, which is within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School, a public elementary school, for gang and drug-trafficking business. No one utilized the house as a primary or permanent residence. On Oct. 2, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the house and seized 295 grams of heroin as well as two assault rifles and a stolen vehicle that had been used in a drive-by shooting the previous month. According to court documents, the drive-by shooting was done at Duncan’s direction. Officers also found a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Century Arms International 7.62x39mm pistol under the couch in the living room and a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on the kitchen cabinet.

Duncan was arrested at his apartment on Oct. 2, 2019. Officers searched his residence and found a Zastava 7.62 x 39mm rifle, a Norinco 7.62 x 39mm rifle, a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol, two loaded rifle magazines, and a loaded handgun magazine under the bed in a bedroom. Officers found $7,100 in cash and four bags that contained a total of 179 pills, a total of more than two kilograms of oxycodone, in the living room.

Duncan also was found guilty of one count of drive-by shooting, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, one count of possessing oxycodone the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and five counts of money laundering related to the purchases of money orders with drug-trafficking proceeds. Those money orders, according to court documents, were used to pay rent for his apartment and a payment on his Dodge Charger. Duncan laundered at least $272,231 in cash deposits, purchases, and money orders, according to court documents.

Toombs Smith and Franklin also were found guilty at trial of participating in a conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. In addition to the two conspiracies, Toombs was found guilty of maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using controlled substances.

Smith and Franklin also were convicted of multiple counts that charged them with various drug-trafficking and firearms crimes.

Duncan and Toombs are the final defendants to be sentenced in this case. In addition to the four defendants who were convicted at trial, 14 defendants in this case pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashleigh Ragner, Mary Kate Butterfield and Ben Hurst. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Lee’s Summit, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for a $1 million extortion scheme against two Kansas City, Mo., victims.

Leon L. Dudley III, 25, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to seven years and five months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Dudley to pay $5,729 in restitution to his victims for the damage done to their home.

Dudley was found guilty at trial on Nov. 9, 2022, of one count of extortion.

Dudley delivered an extortion note to a Kansas City, Mo., residence on Aug. 24, 2018. The victims reported to law enforcement that a contractor arrived at the residence that morning to complete some work and found an envelope containing a handwritten letter taped to the front of the house near the front door. The letter contained a threat to vandalize and burn down the residence if the victims did not pay $1 million by the next day. The note included a cell phone number for the victim to text when the money was ready, and warned against contacting law enforcement.

The next day, Dudley used a pellet gun to break several windows in the house. The homeowners hired a private security firm, but Dudley returned that evening and broke more windows and a sliding glass door. Dudley caused a total of $5,729 in damage to the house.

Investigators traced the cell phone number on the extortion note to the residence where Dudley lives with his mother. Investigators also located Dudley’s Facebook account, which included a photograph of a handwritten note with similar handwriting to the extortion note, as well as photos of Dudley that matched the physical profile captured in surveillance video at the residence.

Investigators searched Dudley’s residence and found an Apple iPad in his bedroom. The iPad had been stolen during a burglary at the extortion victims’ residence while it was still under construction in June 2018. During a forensic examination of the iPad, investigators found it contained internet searches related to the victims, to burning down a house and purchasing explosive items, and two extortion notes similar to the handwritten note that was left at the victims’ residence. According to court documents, Dudley had prepared to deliver a second note threatening to shoot the homeowners, which was found by investigators on the stolen iPad before it could be delivered.

Investigators found fingerprints on the extortion note and on the envelope that matched to Dudley. They also matched the extortion note to Dudley through handwriting analysis and paper impression analysis, and matched the edges in the paper of the note with the fragment remaining in the spiral notebook from which it was torn, which was recovered in Dudley’s possession.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregg R. Coonrod and Stephanie C. Bradshaw. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for two fraud schemes in which he sold unwitting victims rental equipment and real estate that did not belong to him.

Jeremy Ace Woods, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 17 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Woods to pay $798,021 in restitution to 48 victims and to forfeit to the government $336,150, which represents the proceeds he personally received from the charged conduct in this case.

On Dec. 14, 2022, Woods pleaded guilty to three counts of travel fraud and two counts of wire fraud as part of a rental-equipment scheme and a real estate scheme that victimized at least 48 individuals or businesses.

$1,187,177 Rental Equipment Fraud Scheme

As part of the rental-equipment scheme, Woods stole approximately 96 pieces of rental equipment valued at approximately $999,077 from 25 separate rental companies. He then sold at least 41 pieces of equipment to at least 15 victim buyers from across the Midwest, including buyers from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. These victim buyers paid Woods a total of $188,100 for the stolen equipment.

According to court documents, Woods used aliases and lies to enter into sexual relationships with multiple women and employment relationships with multiple men. He exploited these relationships by asking these individuals to rent equipment for him, thus acting as straw renters of the equipment — using their real names and banking information to obtain the equipment. Once the rental equipment was obtained, Woods — again, using various aliases — lined up buyers for the stolen equipment by posting the equipment for sale on Facebook Marketplace or similar websites.

Through this scheme, the unwitting straw renters suffered damage to their credit scores and suffered financial losses; the victim rental companies suffered financial losses; and the victim buyers — many of whom were small business owners — sustained devastating financial losses when the equipment they purchased was ultimately returned to the appropriate rental companies. According to the victim declarations, this fraud had a direct impact on multiple victims’ financial solvency and caused substantial loss of retirement, education, or other savings.

Among the rental equipment cited in court documents as being stolen then sold by Woods is a Boxer skid steer from Home Depot in Olathe, Kan., a Bobcat skid steer from United Rentals in Olathe, and a Toro Dingo TX 1000 compact utility loader from Colman Equipment in Smithville, Mo.

As part of the relevant conduct in the scheme, Woods entered into a romantic relationship with a woman with an intellectual disability. Woods exploited this relationship by having the woman buy and rent property for him, including a truck, multiple trailers, and 12 smart phones. Additionally, Woods told the woman they were going to get married, and – based on those lies – used her money to purchase a $3,500 ring for himself.

$1,042,000 Real Estate Fraud Scheme

As part of the real-estate scheme, Woods fraudulently sold 12 homes he did not own, extracting large down payments and monthly installment payments from unsuspecting victim buyers, from September 2021 to February 2022. The scheme involved total payments, made or intended, of over $1 million.

In this scheme, Woods (through his companies, Ace’s Remediation and Lawn Service or Vaughns Property Management) solicited and received subcontracting jobs for maintenance tasks on homes going through the foreclosure process, many of which were owned by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Instead of honoring the contracts and performing the agreed-upon work, Woods posed as the owner of a real-estate company and fraudulently sold the homes to unsuspecting victim buyers. According to court documents, Woods used aliases with each victim of this scheme.

Woods elicited large downpayments from the victims and had the victims enter fraudulent contracts, requiring them to make monthly installment payments until the homes were paid in full. In total, Woods elicited $183,000 in down payments and monthly installments from various victims. Additionally, the victims also spent approximately $33,777 to remodel the homes, leading to a total actual loss of $216,777.

According to court documents, Woods attempted to victimize two additional individuals but the fraud was discovered before a downpayment was made. According to the victim declarations, this fraud — like the rental-equipment scheme — had a devastating financial impact on numerous lives. This fraud had a direct impact on multiple victims’ solvency; has caused substantial loss of retirement, education, or other savings; has caused substantial changes to employment and/or living arrangements; and has impacted victims’ ability to obtain credit.

Among the residential properties cited in court documents as fraudulently sold by Woods is a residence in Shawnee, Kan.

$2,229,177 Total Losses

The intended loss of the two schemes totaled $2,229,177 while the actual loss of the schemes totaled $900,896.

For the rental-equipment scheme, the intended loss was calculated by adding the value of the stolen rental equipment, $999,077, to the amount the victim buyers paid the defendant, $188,100. The intended loss for the real-estate scheme was calculated by adding the amount paid by the victims for the downpayments, home upgrades, and/or monthly installment payments to the total unpaid amount owed under the fraudulent contracts for a total of $1,042,000.

The three counts of travel fraud to which Woods pleaded guilty are related to instances in which he caused his victims to travel across state lines as part of the fraud schemes.

During the schemes, Woods used multiple aliases, including Jeremy Ace, Jeremy Vaughn, Jeremy Brown, James Hanna, and Elvis John.

Woods has 31 prior felony convictions, including several fraud convictions that are relevant conduct in the two schemes in this case. When arrested in this case in May 2022, Woods was on felony probation in four separate cases in four separate Missouri counties and was on misdemeanor probation in Montgomery County, Kansas. Additionally, he has been convicted of 25 misdemeanors and has had his probation or parole revoked 15 times. He also has pending cases in four separate counties, including an active warrant out of Lyon County, Kansas, for escaping from custody.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Heberle. It was investigated by the FBI; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; and the Overland Park, Kan., Police Department with assistance from the Belton, Mo., Police Department; the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department; the Bonner Springs, Kan., Police Department; the Cole County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department; the Columbia, Mo., Police Department; the Dickinson County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department; the Harrisonville, Mo., Police Department; the Hutchinson, Kan., Police Department; the Independence, Mo., Police Department; the Independence, Kan., Police Department; the Johnson County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department; the Junction City, Kan., Police Department; the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department; the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department; the Lawrence, Kan., Police Department; the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department; the Leavenworth County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department; the Olathe, Kan., Police Department; the Parkville, Mo., Police Department; the Parsons, Kan., Police Department; the Shawnee, Kan., Police Department; the Smithville, Mo., Police Department; and the Topeka, Kan., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing and distributing child pornography following two unrelated investigations by separate law enforcement agencies.

Nicholas P. Johnson, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 12 years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Johnson to pay $19,000 in restitution to his victims and sentenced him to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration. Johnson will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

On March 17, 2023, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography that involves a prepubescent minor.

Johnson admitted that he shared images of child pornography on multiple occasions on Discord, a social media platform. When task force officers with the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force received reports of two separate Cybertipline reports from Discord, they contacted Johnson on June 17, 2020, and seized his cell phone. A forensic analysis of Johnson’s cell phone found 292 videos and 888 photos of child pornography.

Investigators also found Kik Messenger chats between Johnson and another individual in which Johnson made claims that he had sexually abused children. Johnson was actually communicating with an undercover FBI task force officer, who was conducting a separate and unrelated investigation.

In May 2020, an FBI Child Exploitation Task Force officer was working online in an undercover capacity, monitoring internet forums known to be used for sharing child pornography. During that online investigation, the undercover officer communicated with Johnson via the Kik Messenger application and, later, the Wickr instant messaging application. Johnson shared advice with the undercover officer on the grooming and sexual exploitation of children, made claims that he had sexually abused children, and shared child pornography with the undercover officer.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at Johnson’s residence on July 14, 2020. Johnson told agents that he shared child pornography with about 25 other users. Some the files, Johnson told investigators, included depictions of bondage and of prepubescent girls being raped. Investigators seized two laptop computers, which contained at least 164 files that contained child pornography.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, and the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man involved in at least two local shootings was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Danyon Marquise Noble, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to four years and nine months in federal prison without parole.

On Feb. 13, 2023, Noble pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Noble was driving a white Chevrolet Suburban when he was pulled over by deputies with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on Sept. 1, 2022. Deputies searched the vehicle and found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun with an attached 15-round magazine directly under the driver’s seat. They also found an empty Glock 17-round magazine in the passenger side door pocket.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Noble has a prior felony conviction for theft of a credit or debit card.

Noble has associations with two violent street gangs, according to court documents. Both FTO and Only Da Brothers have been under investigation by law enforcement for being involved in multiple shooting incidents in the Springfield area.

According to court documents, Noble committed two additional firearm offenses prior to his arrest in this case.

On April 23, 2022, Springfield police officers pulled over a vehicle in connection with a shooting; Noble was in the backseat of the vehicle. During the search of the vehicle, officers found three firearms, including a Glock magazine and a loaded extended magazine in the backseat area. According to witnesses, Noble fired one shot from a firearm during an argument with two other individuals. Noble was swabbed for gunshot residue, and it was determined that he had gunshot residue on his person.

Less than three months later, on July 10, 2022, Springfield police officers responded to a report of multiple gunshots at an apartment building. They found multiple shell casings, bullet fragments, and one vehicle that appeared to have been struck by a bullet. Video surveillance from the apartment building showed Noble blindly firing a gun around the corner from his position in one of the doorways of the building. Evidence from his Facebook account further confirmed that he was the shooter depicted in the surveillance. Noble has been charged in state court with unlawful possession of a firearm.

The gun recovered from Noble during the Sept. 1, 2023, traffic stop was a preliminary match to the shell casings recovered from the July 10 shooting.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet.

Mark Comer, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 18 years in federal prison without parole. Comer will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

On March 23, 2023, Comer pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography.

Law enforcement officers searched Comer’s laptop in July 2022 as part of an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse. Investigators found thousands of photos and videos of child pornography and child exploitative material.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, the FBI, and the Carl Junction, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a kidnapping conspiracy that resulted in the death of the victim.

Freddie Lewis Tilton, also known as “Ol’ Boy,” 50, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

By pleading guilty today, Tilton admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to kidnap the victim, identified as “M.H.,” in July 2020. Co-defendants Carla Jo Ward, 49, of Joplin, James B. Gibson, 41, of Neosho, Mo., Amy Kay Thomas, 40, of Webb City, Mo., Lawrence William Vaughan, also known as “Scary Larry,” 52, of Newton County, Mo., and Russell Eugene Hurtt, also known as “Uncle,” 51, of Greenwood, Mo., have previously pleaded guilty.

According to the plea agreement, Ward picked up M.H., whom she knew was being sought by Tilton, and took him to Vaughan’s residence. Tilton, Thomas, and Gibson arrived at Vaughan’s residence in the early morning hours of July 15, 2020. They bound M.H.’s hands with handcuffs, and duct tape was placed around his mouth and other parts of his body. Gibson, Thomas, and others assaulted M.H. for a period of time. M.H. was cut, beaten, shot at, and burned with a blowtorch. As M.H. became bloody, Vaughan placed a plastic tarp on the floor. Tilton fatally shot M.H. in the head. They wrapped M.H.’s body in plastic wrap and transported it to Hurtt’s property.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hurtt’s property on July 28, 2020, based on information that a deceased body was located on the acreage. When officers attempted to contact the occupants of the residence, Tilton fired multiple shots from inside the residence at the officers. Tilton was apprehended.

Officers found M.H.’s body on the property. Officers searched the residence and found a Rigarmi .25-caliber pistol, an Ithaca .22-caliber rifle, a Remington .22-caliber rifle without a serial number, a Harrington and Richardson 12-gauge shotgun, a Ruger 9mm handgun, and a Taurus 9mm handgun without a serial number.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Tilton has two prior felony convictions for burglary, two prior felony convictions for larceny of an automobile, and prior felony convictions for stealing, possession of a controlled substance, burglary of an automobile, possession of a chemical with intent to manufacture, receiving stolen property, unlawful use of a weapon, theft, and tampering.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Neosho, Mo., Police Department, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, and the Cherokee County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department.

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The owner of a Kirbyville, Mo., towing company was sentenced in federal court today for leading a conspiracy to illegally tamper with the emissions controls of the company’s diesel towing vehicles.

“This business owner intentionally polluted the air in southwest Missouri for more than a decade with massive amounts of cancer-causing toxins in violation of federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “He pursued personal profit at the expense of the environment and the health of his neighbors. And he brazenly continued dumping dangerous pollutants into the air, and ultimately into the lungs of everyone in the community, even after pleading guilty and being admonished by the court.”

Dennis Cleveland, 73, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Cleveland to pay a $255,000 fine.

“The defendant in this case conspired to bypass and disable the emission control equipment on heavy-duty diesel engines,” said Special Agent in Charge Lance Ehrig of EPA’s criminal investigation program in Missouri. “This sentencing demonstrates that EPA will vigorously prosecute those who violate laws designed to protect our communities from harmful air pollution.”

Cleveland is the owner of Affordable Towing, a roadside, recovery, hauling, and mobile repair provider for commercial and private automobiles and vehicles throughout southwest Missouri. Affordable Towing utilized heavy-duty, commercial diesel trucks to tow and haul away vehicles to repair facilities.

On March 9, 2023, Cleveland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and one count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device. Cleveland admitted that, since 2011, he has directed his employees to physically disable emissions control components on multiple heavy-duty diesel tow trucks.

Each one of Cleveland’s 12 illegally altered tow trucks was responsible for releasing the equivalent pollution of 1,140 legally operating tow trucks, according to court documents. If each of these illegally modified tow trucks operated only once a day (which the investigation revealed occurred far more frequently) that would be the equivalent of 13,200 tow trucks that have legal emission systems being operated every day.

Even after being contacted by law enforcement in September 2022, Cleveland continued operating his illegally modified fleet of tow trucks. After pleading guilty, and being warned by the court that continuing such operations would violate federal law as well as his plea agreement, Cleveland never stopped using his illegally modified tow trucks. As a result, Cleveland’s bond was revoked on July 20, 2023, and he has since been detained in federal custody.

Cleveland conspired with Robert Dyche, 67, of Springfield, the owner and operator of Full Flash Tuning, which specializes in illegally tampering with the on-board diagnostic systems on these vehicles. Cleveland caused the Affordable Towing trucks to be tampered with to save money by avoiding maintenance expenses on emissions control systems and by spending less money on fuel.

This tampering is frequently referred to as “tuning” or “flashing” an on-board diagnostic system. One purpose for “tuning” is to allow the vehicles to continue to seemingly operate normally while the emissions control system is disabled, rather than forcing the vehicle’s engine into a state known as “limp mode,” which greatly limits the maximum speed of the vehicle, incentivizing the driver or owner to repair the malfunction. The use of “tuning” thereby serves to reduce the high costs associated with maintaining or repairing components of the emissions control systems on heavy-duty diesel trucks.

As a consequence of “tuning,” tampered vehicles spew substantially more deleterious pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (Nox), carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and particulate matter (PM) into the air, presenting a risk to the environment and public health.

Cleveland, through Affordable Towing, contracted with Dyche on multiple occasions to “tune” or “flash” the emissions control systems of Affordable Towing vehicles, thereby causing multiple fleet vehicles to be altered in such a way that the vehicles released pollutants into the air that far exceeded the legally allowable amounts under the Clean Air Act. Each diesel truck would continue to operate normally, as if the vehicle were operating in accord with existing Clean Air Act restrictions, rather than go into limp mode.

In addition to personally tuning Affordable Towing vehicles, Dyche, on multiple occasions, would take the vehicles to an unidentified entity in Rogersville, Mo., to “tune” the vehicles, for which he was compensated by Affordable Towing.

Dyche pleaded guilty on March 13, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and awaits sentencing.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. They were investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Kansas City, Mo., men who led 246, a violent street gang, were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and other violent criminal behavior that included illegal firearms and a drive-by shooting outside a daycare center where children were present.

Ladele D. Smith, also known as “Dellio” and “Dog,” 36, and Roy Franklin, Jr., 33, were sentenced in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays. Smith was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison without parole. Franklin was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 15, 2022, Smith and Franklin were found guilty at trial of participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana from Jan. 1, 2011, to Oct. 1, 2019. Smith was also convicted of 15 additional counts that charged him with various drug-trafficking and firearms crimes, including a drive-by shooting and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Franklin was also convicted of nine additional counts that charged him with various drug-trafficking and firearms crimes, including the drive-by shooting and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Co-defendants David J. Duncan, IV, also known as “Deej” or “DJ,” 34, and Gary O. Toombs, 43, both of Kansas City, Mo., also were convicted during the same trial and are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 26, 2023.

The investigation into the 246 street gang, operating in the Kansas City metropolitan area, began in June 2017. The gang is an alliance of gang members from the 24th, 43rd, and 68th streets of Kansas City, Mo. Smith was identified as a leader of the gang, and Franklin, Duncan and Toombs as members of the gang.

Smith and Duncan are local rap artists who often posted to social media platforms, such as YouTube, with references to the 246 gang. In some of the videos, Smith and others show firearms and large amounts of cash. The social media posts also portrayed Smith and others wearing expensive jewelry, watches, hats, and clothing that depicted 246 gang affiliation.

Smith only made about $300 from his music, according to court documents, but he spent about $54,000 at Halls Department Store between 2017 and 2019, and spent more than $27,000 on rental cars from Enterprise during that time. Those financial records don’t include the money spent on other luxury items (such as clothes, shoes, and accessories) seized by law enforcement from Smith’s residence.

Members of the 246 gang used a residence in the 4400 block of Kensington, which is within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School, a public elementary school, for gang and drug-trafficking business. No one utilized the house as a primary or permanent residence. On Oct. 2, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the house and seized heroin as well as two assault rifles and a stolen vehicle that had been used in a drive-by shooting the previous month. Officers also found a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Century Arms International 7.62x39mm pistol under the couch in the living room and a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on the kitchen cabinet.

Smith was arrested at his apartment on Oct 2, 2019. Officers searched his residence and found codeine, $31,601 in cash, and jewelry valued at over $40,000.

Duncan was also arrested at his apartment on Oct. 2, 2019. Officers searched his residence and found a Zastava 7.62 x 39mm rifle, a Norinco 7.62 x 39mm rifle, a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol, two loaded rifle magazines, and a loaded handgun magazine under the bed in a bedroom. Officers found $7,100 in cash and four bags of pills that contained oxycodone in the living room.

Smith, Franklin and Toombs also were found guilty at trial of participating in a conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

In addition to the two conspiracies, Smith was found guilty of one count of drive-by shooting, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of distributing marijuana, one count of distributing marijuana near a school (within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School), four counts of distributing heroin, and four counts of distributing heroin near a school (within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School).

In addition to the two conspiracies, Franklin was found guilty of one count of drive-by shooting, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, two counts of distributing marijuana and two counts of distributing marijuana near a school (within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School).

Duncan also was found guilty of possessing oxycodone the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and five counts of money laundering related to the purchases of money orders with drug-trafficking proceeds.

Toombs also was found guilty of maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using controlled substances.

Fourteen co-defendants in this case have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashleigh Ragner, Mary Kate Butterfield and Ben Hurst. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Richmond, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for distributing child pornography.

Zachary Ryan Taylor, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough on Friday, Sept. 15, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Taylor to pay $25,215 in restitution to the child victims depicted in the images of child pornography.

The court also sentenced Taylor to 20 years of supervised release following incarceration. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

On March 8, 2023, Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography. Taylor admitted that he participated in a chatroom through the online application Kik. Taylor communicated with an online covert employee with the FBI, claiming to be sexually active with a child victim. He sent the covert FBI employee an image of child pornography that he claimed was the child victim, although investigators do not believe the photo actually was a depiction of the child victim. Taylor also claimed he had been with a second child victim.

On Dec. 21, 2021, the FBI and other law enforcement personnel executed a search warrant at Taylor’s residence. Upon arrival at the residence, the emergency lights on law enforcement vehicles were activated, and officers knocked and announced their presence. Taylor narrowly opened the front door to look out. After he failed to completely open the door despite orders to open the door and show his hands, the door was forced open.

Investigators seized several cell phones and other electronic devices, which contained hundreds of videos and images of child pornography.

The Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force also investigated two cybertips, from Musical.ly and Kik, which reported that Taylor had uploaded images and videos of child pornography to those platforms.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison D. Dunning. It was investigated by the FBI and the Richmond, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The owner of a Kansas City, Mo., pawn shop was sentenced in federal court today for engaging in a $744,000 scheme to fence more than 14,500 stolen items and sell them on eBay.

Dennis G. Russell, 66, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 20 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Russell to pay a $100,000 fine and to forfeit to the government $744,222, which represents the proceeds obtained from the conspiracy.

On March 24, 2023, Russell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines. During the scheme, Russell was one of two members of the board of directors of Rison of KC, Inc., which does business as National Pawn at 6223 E. Truman Road in Kansas City, Mo. Rison of KC is also charged with the same offense but has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Russell admitted that he participated in a nearly five-year-long conspiracy from Jan. 1, 2017, to July 27, 2021, to purchase items he knew had been stolen from various retail locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, then sell those items on eBay. Russell shipped approximately 14,672 stolen items across state lines, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $744,222.

Multiple thieves, known as “boosters,” stole items from Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, CVS, Walgreens, and other retail locations. They sold such stolen items as robot vacuum cleaners, textbooks, Roku and Google Chromecast television streaming devices, and Crest Whitestrips to Russell at a fraction of their retail price. Russell then posted the stolen items for sale on eBay, using one of two accounts, and shipped them to purchasers in numerous other states.

According to court documents, Russell continued his scheme during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, 2020 was his most profitable year, selling 7,089 stolen items on eBay and receiving $324,842 in gross proceeds. In one instance, from Feb. 20 to April 2, 2020, two boosters — who were working in tandem — provided him with 641 stolen items.

Russell only stopped his illegal conduct after a federal search warrant was executed at National Pawn and he was served with a target letter. On Oct. 21, 2021, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at National Pawn and seized 3,400 items, which Russell and National Pawn do not contest were stolen property and which have been forfeited to the government.

Rison of KC has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Under the terms of that agreement, the business admits to the criminal conspiracy and accepts responsibility for the acts of its officers and employees. The government will defer prosecution of Rison of KC for that conduct during the three-year term of the agreement and will not continue with prosecution if the business fully complies with its obligations under the agreement, which include:

• National Pawn must keep a current list of all employees, all financial accounts, and all auction websites it utilizes;
• National Pawn must obtain and retain a verifiable third-party receipt for any new product purchased;
• Russell must not work at or profit from National Pawn.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Heberle, Matthew Wolesky, and Anthony Brown. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Joplin, Mo., man and woman have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to steal mail from Joplin residents and in a separate conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

Aaron M. Blake, 27, and Emily Anna-Lee Sturgis, 30, were charged in a nine-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Aug. 29, 2023.

The federal indictment alleges that Blake and Sturgis participated in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and, in a separate count, a mail theft conspiracy, from December 2022 to Jan. 26, 2023.

According to the indictment, Blake and Sturgis stole checks, credit cards, debit cards, cash, and documents that contained personal identification information from the mailboxes of their victims in Joplin. The indictment alleges they stole Pandora jewelry from one victim’s mailbox, and a Christmas card that contained a $500 check from another victim’s mailbox. The indictment also alleges they stole a W-2 form from a mailbox and used it to fraudulently obtain a credit card; when the credit card was mailed to the victim’s address, they allegedly stole it from the mailbox as well. In another instance, the indictment says, they stole a credit card from a victim’s mailbox and used it to make purchases.

Blake and Sturgis allegedly used the stolen credit cards to purchase items from area businesses. They allegedly used the stolen personal identification information of their victims (such as bank account numbers, bank routing numbers, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers) to open other credit and bank accounts.

Blake and Sturgis rented a motel room in Carthage, Mo., the indictment says, where they kept the stolen mail.

In addition to the two conspiracy charges, Blake and Sturgis are charged together in three counts of bank fraud and three counts of possessing stolen mail. Blake is also charged with one count of aggravated identity theft.

Deputies with the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department responded to a call on Jan. 26, 2023, about the occupants of a blue sedan stealing mail and parcels from residences. The deputies located Blake and Sturgis at Casey’s General Store in Carl Junction, Mo., in possession of various pieces of stolen mail, and arrested them.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Carthage, Mo., Police Department and the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Rogersville, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for the sexual exploitation of two child victims.

Jake Ethan Patterson, 28, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Patterson to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

On Dec. 20, 2022, Patterson pleaded guilty to two counts of the sexual exploitation of a child.

The investigation began in June 2021, when Canadian law enforcement authorities seized two cell phones belonging to a citizen of Canada. Forensic analysis of the cell phones uncovered Snapchat conversations with Patterson. During those conversations, Patterson shared multiple videos and images of child pornography involving two young children who were approximately three to five years old.

Law enforcement officers interviewed Patterson, who admitted to producing the sexually explicit images of the child victims. Patterson also admitted he had additional child pornography stored on his cell phone.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the FBI, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally reentering the United States.

Miguel Esquivel-Alvarez, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 14 years in federal prison without parole.

On Jan. 24, 2023, Esquivel-Alvarez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.

Esquivel-Alvarez admitted that on July 31, 2020, he and others sold approximately 921.6 grams of pure methamphetamine at a gas station in the 1600 block of 14th Street in Kansas City, Mo., for $14,000. He and others also sold approximately 453.7 grams of methamphetamine at a parking lot in Independence, Mo., as well as a Ruger AR-556 rifle, for a total of $7,100.

Additionally, Esquivel-Alvarez and others transported approximately six kilograms of methamphetamine from a residence in Kansas City, Kansas, on Oct. 1, 2020. He was arrested following a car stop along Interstate-70 in Independence.

Esquivel-Alvarez had been deported and removed from the United States on Oct. 16, 2013, and was in the country illegally.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm and for possessing methamphetamine to distribute.

Kendall A. Childress, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole.

On April 20, 2023, Childress pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Kansas City police officers stopped Childress, who was driving a 2012 Kia Soul, on an outstanding felony arrest warrant on Sept. 20, 2022. When officers searched Childress during his arrest they found a Walther PK380 semi-automatic firearm tucked into the left side of his waistband and a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic firearm in the right side of his waistband. The Smith & Wesson firearm had been reported stolen.

Officers also searched the Kia and found a plastic bag that contained 64.59 grams of methamphetamine in the center console, as well as another plastic bag that contained 4.34 grams of fentanyl.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Childress has four prior felony convictions for the criminal use of a financial card, two prior felony convictions for burglary, and prior felony convictions for receiving stolen property, stealing, resisting arrest by fleeing, trafficking drugs, battery against a correctional officer, possession of narcotics, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful use of a weapon.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. Foley. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., day care owner has pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in a conspiracy that resulted in a $653,329 tax loss to the federal government, as well as fraudulently collecting almost $120,000 in government benefits she was not entitled to receive.

Patricia L. Johnson-Rushing, 55, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, to one count of theft of public money, one count of benefits fraud, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Johnson-Rushing admitted that she fraudulently received $83,394 in public funding for her childcare center, Granny’s Pray & Play, located at 3714 E. 27th Street in Kansas City, Mo., and that she unlawfully received food stamps. Johnson-Rushing also admitted that she participated in a conspiracy to obstruct the collection of federal employment taxes by failing to pay over to the government $154,186 in federal income tax and FICA contributions collected from the paychecks of Granny’s Pray & Play employees. This was part of a total tax loss to the government, including the employer’s share of payroll taxes, of $653,329.

The total fraud to which Johnson-Rushing pleaded guilty is $772,861.

Theft of Public Money

Johnson-Rushing admitted that she submitted false claims to the Missouri Department of Social Services that intentionally reported false information for children attending Granny’s Pray & Play from Jan. 1, 2016, to Nov. 28, 2019. The purpose of the scheme was to receive payments from the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant Program. This program is intended to help low-income families get access to high-quality early care and after-school programs. Parents of adopted children are eligible to receive the childcare subsidy for their children who are under the age of 13 if both parents are working. However, the provider agreement explicitly states that the owner of the childcare center cannot be paid for services to their own children.

Six children adopted by Johnson-Rushing and her husband were approved to receive the childcare subsidy for full time care. In order to qualify for the childcare subsidy, Johnson-Rushing submitted false documentation to misrepresent her ownership of the center and to falsely claim employment elsewhere. According to the plea agreement, the total funds fraudulently paid to Granny’s Pray & Play is $83,394.

Benefits Fraud

From 2016 to 2019, Johnson-Rushing signed food stamp applications to receive subsidy money from the state of Missouri. On those applications, she falsely claimed to have no job or bank account. In reality, she frequently withdrew funds from the Granny’s Pray & Play bank account to purchase cashier’s checks for herself. Personal expenses were also paid in her name from the Granny’s Pray & Play bank account, including $15,000 towards the purchase of a Cadillac Escalade in October 2016.

Based on the fraudulent statements and representations in her application, Johnson-Rushing unlawfully acquired $12,310 in food stamps. Her fraudulent applications, which included additional fraud, caused a total loss to the Missouri Family Support Division of $36,138.

Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

Granny’s Pray & Play had about 15 employees and withheld funds in federal income tax and FICA contributions from their paychecks. Johnson-Rushing failed to pay over those trust fund taxes from her employees to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $154,186.58 from first quarter 2015 through fourth quarter 2018.

The total tax loss in relevant conduct (which includes Johnson-Rushing’s portion of federal and state payroll taxes as the employer) is $499,142, which combined with $154,186 in total tax loss for failure to pay over employee taxes yields a total tax loss of $653, 329.

Under federal statutes, Johnson-Rushing is subject to a sentence of up to 35 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes, IV. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Seneca, Mo., man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm.

Jason Daniel Gibson, 40, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Aug. 29, 2023.

The federal indictment alleges that Gibson possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute on Sept. 9, 2022. The indictment also charges Gibson with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Gibson allegedly possessed a Henry Repeating Arms .22-caliber rifle on Sept. 9, 2022. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Hatcher. It was investigated by the Ozark Drug Enforcement Team, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing a firearm.

Richard A. Bloodsoe, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 13 years in federal prison without parole.

On March 16, 2023, Bloodsoe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Bloodsoe admitted that he conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine from July 8, 2021, to Sept. 20, 2022. He sold cocaine and methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent on four occasions in July and August 2021. On Sept. 17, 2021, Bloodsoe sold an undercover agent a Jimenez Arms .380-caliber pistol.

On Dec. 14, 2021, agents saw Bloodsoe conducting drug transactions from his Cadillac DTS. Bloodsoe fled on foot from the agents, who searched his vehicle and found a backpack that contained a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun, 14 glass vials of PCP, a small apple juice bottle that contained PCP, a bag that contained approximately 21.09 grams of pure methamphetamine, a bag that contained approximately 51.9 grams of cocaine, a bag that contained approximately 48.4 grams of cocaine, and pills suspected to contain hydrocodone and methamphetamine.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Grandview, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to fraudulently receiving more than $200,000 in disability benefits while operating a childcare business.

Sandra D. Mondaine, 63, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to one count of theft of government money.

By pleading guilty today, Mondaine admitted that she received $209,309 in disability benefits over a 10-year period while she was self-employed as a childcare provider. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Mondaine must forfeit to the government a money judgment of $209,309.

Mondaine received Title II Disability Insurance benefits from January 2008 through December 2017. Less than a year after she was rewarded benefits, Mondaine became self-employed and filed taxes as a self-employed childcare provider. She did not report her self-employment to the Social Security Administration when she began her business.

Mondaine responded to several inquiries from the Social Security Administration in which she minimized and fraudulently represented earnings from her self-employment. Mondaine falsely claimed that her sons (who were incarcerated during a significant portion of her self-employment) were performing most of the work for her childcare business and were paid most of the profits.

Under federal statutes, Mondaine is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker. It was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A federal grand jury indicted 15 individuals for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Jermel D. McCray, also known as “Bumpy,” 28; Eric M. Duncan, 28; Jermon D. McCray, also known as “Crowe,” 28; Devion M. Miles, also known as “Rooster,” 21; Armeer M. Asad, also known as “Low,” 33; Kyrie H. Fields, 28; Adonijah Q. Moody, 23; Gary T. Young, 31; Zamewick D. McCray, also known as “Buck,” 30; Dollahead M. Finney, 21; Dawn M. Keating, 52; Makenna J. Glynn, 23; Clayton M. Hammons, 21; Brandon M. Kline, 25; and Chase R. McNichols, 25, were charged in a 63-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on September 6, 2023. The indictment was unsealed and made public yesterday upon the arrest and initial court appearances of 1 of the 15 defendants.

In addition to the drug-distribution conspiracy, Jermel McCray is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a machine gun, and felon in possession of firearms. 

Duncan is also charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of fentanyl, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a machine gun, and felon in possession of a firearm.

Jermon McCray, Zamewick McCray, and Miles are also charged with distribution of fentanyl. 

Asad and Fields are also charged with distribution of fentanyl and distribution of heroin.

Moody is also charged with distribution of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a machine gun, and felon in possession of firearms.

Young is also charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and felon in possession of firearms.

Finney is also charged with distribution of fentanyl, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of machine guns in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of machine guns.

Glynn is also charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Hammons is also charged with possession with intent to distribute THC, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a machine gun.

McNichols is also charged with distribution of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

The superseding indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendants to forfeit to the government $7,918,000, which represents the proceeds of the defendants’ alleged drug-distribution conspiracy.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Smith and Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Overland Park, Kansas Police Department, Independence, Missouri Police Department, the Gladstone, Missouri Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Jackson County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, the Johnson County, Kansas Drug Task Force, the Blue Springs, Missouri Police Department, Hays, Kansas Police Department, the Olathe, Kansas Police Department, and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Indictment from earlier this year in the Western District of Missouri Federal Court charging individuals with escaping confinement and other individuals with assisting them, resulted in an incarceration sentence of 16 months for one of those charged, consecutive to a pending State of Missouri case.

Trevor Scott Sparks, 33, Kansas City, MO, and Sergio Perez Martinez, 43, Panorama City, CA, were charged in a two-count Indictment with escape from confinement and aiding or assisting each other in escape from confinement.  Another individual, John Douglas Baxter, 57, of Blue Springs, MO, was also charged in the Indictment with a single count of aiding or assisting in the escape. 

As of the drafting of this release, Perez Martinez remains at large, although Sparks was re-arrested December 30th, 2022. Baxter, who has been in custody pending resolution of his charges since Sparks was captured, was sentenced today for his role in assisting that escape.  The Court sentenced him to 16 months in custody, consecutive to any sentence he may receive in a pending state case that resulted from Missouri moving to revoke his parole from a prior state felony conviction.

After arrests on federal felony warrants, and because of jury trial convictions and guilty pleas to various felony charges contained within several Western District of Missouri (WDMO) Federal Grand Jury indictments and various orders of WDMO Federal District Court Judge D. Greg Kays, Trevor Scott Sparks and Sergio Perez Martinez were confined in the Cass County, Missouri, Jail on multiple federal felonies.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement began investigating the escape of Sparks and Martinez from the Cass County Jail on or about December 5, 2022. On December 6, 2022, the United States Marshals Service was notified by Cass County, Missouri, that Sparks escaped from confinement and was seen leaving the facility at 10:22 p.m. on December 5, 2022. It was later determined that Sparks and Martinez, another inmate in the Cass County facility, escaped through subterfuge and damage to the facility from the Cass County Jail and fled east outside the jail into the surrounding rural community. From there, a co-defendant picked them up in his vehicle and transported them to his apartment in Kansas City, Missouri, where they obtained clothes and food. They were then transported into the Northeast area of the Kansas City metropolitan area.  Sparks and his mother, Co-Defendant Dawn Branstietter, were subsequently arrested in this same general area on December 30, 2022.  Branstietter’s husband, Defendant Baxter, was also later arrested on the same aiding escape charges.  Branstietter and Baxter provided food, clothing, and housing to Sparks while Sparks was a fugitive.  Branstietter is scheduled for sentencing Thursday. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert Smith. It is being investigated by the United States Marshal Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Kansas City Police Department, and the Cass County Sheriff’s Department with other law enforcement agencies also assisting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Trevor Scott Sparks, a Kansas City, Missouri, federal defendant who escaped after trial and was recaptured, was sentenced in federal district court today for his role in leading a $4.1 million heavily armed drug-trafficking conspiracy, and directing two kidnappings, both resulting in murders, and numerous assaults.  The drug trafficking organization (DTO) Sparks led distributed approximately 400 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas in 2017 and 2018.

Sparks, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to life imprisonment, plus 60 months consecutive, in federal prison without parole on the drug, money, and gun charges, all consecutive to 33 months for the escape.  The court also ordered Sparks to pay a money judgment of $400,000.00, which represents the profits he received from the drug-trafficking conspiracy. That forfeiture amount is based on the unlawful distribution of approximately 100 kilograms of methamphetamine, based on an average street sale price of $7,500.00 per kilogram, and an average cost to the DTO of $3,500.00 a kilogram.  Sparks and the co-conspirators he supplied are believed to have distributed approximately 400 kilograms of methamphetamine in less than 2 years.

On November 7th, 2022, Sparks was found guilty by a jury of all counts presented during the weeklong trial.  The charges included participating in conspiracies to distribute methamphetamine and launder drug proceeds from January 1, 2017, to December 18, 2018, possessing firearms in relation to that drug-trafficking crime, and to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  Sparks and several of his co-conspirators were arrested out of a residence on Smart Avenue in the Northeast area of Kansas City, Missouri, on December 18, 2018.  Located in that residence were numerous firearms, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, United States currency, drug ledgers, and other indicia of drug trafficking.  This is the same residence where at least two of the DTO related assaults occurred.   

While no one was charged with nor convicted at trial of it, members of the Sparks DTO were found responsible at sentencing by the Court for two murders. In early August 2018, James “Old School” Hampton was seized in St. Louis by members of the Sparks DTO at the direction of Sparks.  Hampton was seized because the drug conspiracy was convinced Hampton could help find the drugs and money stolen by co-conspirator David Richards. When they realized Hampton could not or would not help, Hampton was restrained, beaten, and tortured. Hampton was then kidnapped and transported from St. Louis to Kansas City in the trunk of his own car. Brittanie Broyles, who was with Hampton and witnessed him being beaten, tortured, restrained, and kidnapped, was also kidnapped and taken to Kansas City.  Once in Kansas City, Hampton was left in the trunk of his car and he and his car were secreted in a co-conspirator’s garage near the Smart residence. Broyles managed to obtain control of another co-conspirator’s cellular telephone and surreptitiously send text messages to friends and family in St. Louis about her and “Old School’s” plight.  Once that was discovered by the DTO, Sparks directed the DTO to move from one hotel to another, thereby thwarting efforts to locate Broyles. Her friends and family and law enforcement were unable to locate her before she was murdered by members of the Sparks DTO.

On August 6, 2018, Hampton’s car and body were discovered burning in Bates City, Missouri.  This was after members of the DTO retrieved Hampton’s car (and body) from the secreted location and Sparks directed them to take it and burn it because of the odor emanating from the vehicle and to destroy the evidence and Hampton’s body.  Witnesses and video identified Co-Defendant Gerald Lee Ginnings of Grandview, Missouri, being followed by Co-Defendant Markus Michael A. Patterson, of Kansas City, Missouri, in another co-conspirator’s car, as Ginnings drove Hampton’s car with his body in the trunk to Bates City, Missouri, where it was found by the Sni Valley Fire Department fully engulfed.  Once they extinguished the flames, Hampton’s desecrated body was found in what was left of the trunk.  Sparks forgave a drug debt of Ginnings for this duty.    

On August 8, 2018, Broyles’s body was recovered near the Super Flea in the Northeast area of Kansas City, Missouri. She had been murdered by two gunshots to her head.  While not charged nor convicted of it, the Court at sentencing found that witnesses and evidence implicated Sparks in ordering her killing because of what she knew about Hampton.  Ginnings and Patterson were likewise implicated as the two responsible for this murder.  Ginnings was sentenced August 25, 2023, to 520 months in federal prison on similar charges to Sparks.  Co-Defendant Patterson was sentenced August 17, 2023, to 560 months on the same charges.   

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone involved in drug trafficking to possesses firearms related to that trafficking and it is also illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Sparks has prior felony convictions for robbery, drug offenses, and assault.

Sparks was the main defendant over two indictments with 32 co-defendants, all who have pleaded guilty and been sentenced in those two cases.

On December 6, 2022, Sparks and fellow federal inmate Sergio Perez-Martinez escaped the Cass County jail where they were being held for sentencing in their respective federal cases.  On December 30, 2022, Sparks was apprehended in the Northeast area of Kansas City, Missouri.  Also charged in that escape case was Perez-Martinez (still at large), Sparks’ mother and stepfather, and another man, who was the co-conspirator that stored the car with Hampton in it.  Sparks was also sentenced today for that escape to which he pled guilty on June 28, 2023.    

These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. They were investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Sni Valley Fire Department, the Jackson, Lafayette, Buchanan, Phelps, and Cass County, Mo., Sheriff’s Departments, the FBI, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the St. James, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man and a Crowder, Mississippi, man were convicted by a federal jury today for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that included two murders.

Shawn Burkhalter, also known as “Deuce,” 34, of Kansas City, and Joshua Nesbitt, also known as “T,” 29, of Crowder, each were found guilty of two counts of murder resulting from the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of murdering a potential witness.

Burkhalter and Nesbitt also each were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, one count of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, one count of robbery, two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a drug-trafficking crime, one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of being felons in possession of a firearm, one count of conspiracy to commit witness and evidence tampering, and one count of evidence tampering. Additionally, Burkhalter was found guilty of one count of witness and evidence tampering.

Under federal statutes, Burkhalter and Nesbitt are subject to life in federal prison without parole.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Burkhalter and Nesbitt participated in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana from 2008 to Feb. 20, 2018.

On Sept. 10, 2015, Burkhalter and Nesbitt stole cocaine from Danny Lamont Dean, and in the process of that robbery, shot and killed Dean with a Rock River Arms AR-15, 5:56-caliber semi-automatic rifle.

On Oct. 4, 2015, Nesbitt and others stole marijuana from Anthony Dwayne Johnson, and in the process of that robbery, Nesbitt shot and killed Johnson with the same Rock River Arms AR-15, 5:56-caliber semi-automatic rifle, all of which was at the direction of Burkhalter.

Both of those murders were committed “willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought, and in the perpetration of, and attempt to perpetrate, a robbery,” as charged in the indictment. The indictment further charged that Johnson’s murder was committed as part of a conspiracy to prevent him from testifying before a federal grand jury or federal court or communicating with a federal law enforcement officer.

The witness tampering conspiracy also included a murder threat against another person, identified in court documents as “Witness #1,” to cause that person to help conceal the AR-15 rifle used to murder Johnson and Dean, so that it could not be used as evidence. Conspirators attempted to hide the murder weapon from federal investigators.

Burkhalter and Nesbitt robbed a Kansas City, Mo., business on Sept. 8, 2015, brandishing the same AR-15 rifle.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for six hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, ending a trial that began Monday, Aug. 7, 2023.

Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Co-defendants Sharika Hooker and Autry Hines, both of Kansas City, Mo.; Joslyn Lee, also known as “Bless,” and Nickayla Jones, both of Blue Springs, Mo.; Rachel Ryce of Raytown, Mo.; and Anthony Peltier, also known as “A-1,” of Lawrence, Kansas, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and David Wagner. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Kan. man who was arrested after attacking an adult male victim, carjacking a second victim, getting into a high-speed chase with police, and crashing into a residence in Kansas City, Kansas was charged in federal court.

Van Calvin Callahan, Jr., 43, was charged in a three-count criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. Callahan remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Tuesday, August 29.

The federal criminal complaint charges Callahan with one count of carjacking, one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. These offenses allegedly occurred on August 22, 2023.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, on August 22, 2023, Callahan committed an unprovoked assault against a victim who was walking to the bus stop near East 3rd Street and Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo. A second victim attempted to intervene, and Callahan used a firearm to carjack that victim.

The charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh Ragner. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, Kansas City, Kan. Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Grandview, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a $4.1 million drug-trafficking conspiracy, which is linked to two murders, and which distributed approximately 400 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas.

Gerald Lee Ginnings, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 520 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Ginnings to pay a money judgment of $86,750.00, which represents the proceeds he received from the drug-trafficking conspiracy. That forfeiture amount is based on the defendants specific unlawful distribution of approximately 7 kilograms of methamphetamine, based on an average street sale price of $500 per ounce.  The overall conspiracy distributed at least 400 kilograms of methamphetamine in less than 2 years.

On Oct. 21, 2022, Ginnings pleaded guilty to participating in conspiracies to distribute methamphetamine and launder drug proceeds from Jan. 1, 2017, Sept. 1, 2018, to possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Ginnings was arrested several times in 2018 in possession of methamphetamine and firearms. 

The drug-trafficking organization with which Ginnings was associated was responsible for two murders. In August 2018, James Hampton was seized in St. Louis by members of the same drug-trafficking conspiracy that supplied Ginnings with methamphetamine, although Ginnings was not in St. Louis, Mo., with this group when Hampton was seized. Hampton was seized because the drug conspiracy were convinced Hampton could help find the drugs and money stolen by co-conspirator David Richards. When they realized Hampton could not or would not help, Hampton was restrained and beaten. Hampton was then transported from St. Louis to Kansas City, in the trunk of his own car. Brittanie Broyles, who was with Hampton and witnessed him being beaten and restrained, was also taken to Kansas City, where she later sent text messages from a co-conspirator’s phone she secreted of her plight to family and friends in St. Louis.  They were unable to locate her before she was murdered.

On Aug. 6, 2018, Hampton’s car and body were discovered burning in Bates City, Mo.  On Aug. 8, 2018, Broyles’s body was recovered near Super Flea in the Northeast area of Kansas City. She had been murdered by two gunshots to her head. Witnesses and video identified Ginnings being following by co-defendant Markus Michael A. Patterson, of Kansas City, Mo., in another co-conspirator’s car as Ginnings drove Hampton’s car to Bates City. Patterson was recently sentenced to 560 months on the same charges.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone involved in drug trafficking to possesses firearms related to that trafficking and it is also illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Ginnings has prior felony convictions for statutory rape, failure to register as a sec offender, and numerous assaults and car thefts.

Ginnings is among 32 co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case and its companion case.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Sni Valley Fire Department, the Jackson, Lafayette, Buchanan, and Phelps County, Mo., Sheriff’s Departments, the FBI, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the St. James, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three leaders and six members of a confederation of street gangs in the Kansas City metropolitan area have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in an ongoing criminal enterprise that involved armed violence, including a murder conspiracy and drive-by shootings, and illegal drug trafficking.

Steven K. Lee, also known as “Bizzle” and “SB,” 38, Charles V. Williams, also known as “Cheese” and “Chucky D,” 35, Travis L. Cook, also known as “Trav,” 30, Richard B. Johnson, also known as “Scritch” and “Rich,” 24, Deion D. Alford, also known as “Wommy,” 23, Ewon R. Kelley, also known as “Won,” 33, Myreku L. Frazier, also known as “Rekus,” 30, Anthony D. Hunter, also known as “Dee,” 25, and Jacequin Boswell, also known as “Nunu” and “Noodles,” 30, were charged in a six-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 17, 2023. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of three of the defendants.

Lee, Williams, Cook, Kelley, and Hunter were all arrested in an operation on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Johnson and Alford are already in custody in connection with other charges. The operation involved more than 140 law enforcement officers from multiple local and federal agencies and searches of 16 residences associated with gang members. During the searches and arrests, law enforcement seized approximately 27 firearms, two machineguns, 1,069 rounds of ammunition, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, and bulk cash associated with the gangs. Additional seizures are still in the process of being logged into evidence.

According to the indictment, seven of the defendants—Lee, Johnson, Alford, Kelley, Frazier, Hunter, and Boswell—were members of an organized criminal enterprise, a gang called the Park Side Greasies, which is centered around the intersection of 33rd Street and Park Avenue in Kansas City, Mo. Members of Park Side Greasies allegedly engaged in acts of violence, including murder, conspiracy to murder, armed assault and robbery, and drug trafficking.

According to the indictment, Lee is the leader of Park Side Greasies. Williams leads Click Clack Gang and Cook leads South Benton Gang. Members of the three gangs maintain regular communication and frequently cooperate for the purpose of illegal drug trafficking and violent crimes, creating a confederation of gangs known as South Park Click. The gang alliance was memorialized in a 2013 song entitled “For Da 30’s,” the indictment says, which includes the verse “South Park Click. That’s South Benton, Park, and Click Clack. If somebody got shot, close your mouth – we probably did that. McDonald’s or Wendy’s, we don’t give a (expletive). You won’t move until the paramedics pick you up.”

Leaders, members, and associates of the criminal enterprise promoted a climate of fear in the community through repeated waves of gunfire, assaults, and destruction of property, among other crimes of violence and intimidation, the indictment says. They used and threatened to use physical violence to suppress challenges from rival criminals and others who threatened the enterprise. They enhanced their reputation for violence by killing, attempting to kill, and otherwise violently confronting people who challenged them. They enriched themselves, and funded the operations of the criminal enterprise, with the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking, robbery, and burglary.

The indictment charges all nine of the defendants in one count of participating in a racketeering conspiracy since at least Jan. 1, 2008. They allegedly engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity, including multiple acts and threats of murder, robbery, and drug trafficking as part of the criminal enterprise.

The indictment charges all nine of the defendants in one count of participating in a drug-trafficking conspiracy since at least Jan. 1, 2008. They allegedly conspired to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, PCP, alprazolam, oxycodone, and marijuana.

The indictment charges Lee, Johnson, Alford, Kelley, Hunter, and Boswell in one count of participating in a murder conspiracy since at least Dec. 8, 2017, in aid of the racketeering enterprise. Lee allegedly issued a contract for the murder of a rival gang member. Boswell located and attempted to shoot the victim in the area of 34th Street in Kansas City, Mo., but the victim successfully fled. Hunter shot at the victim on Dec. 30, 2018, reporting to Lee that they had “exchanged metal.” Kelley located the victim on Jan. 1, 2019, but was unable to execute the contract because too many people were around.

On Jan. 28, 2021, Johnson allegedly fired on multiple vehicles, believing them to be occupied by rivals, causing an injury to an uninvolved citizen and damaging property. Johnson is charged with one count of aiding and abetting another person to attempt to murder and to assault another person with a dangerous weapon, a Glock 9mm handgun. Johnson is also charged with one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Bradshaw. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Indictment from earlier this year in the Western District of Missouri Federal Court charging individuals with escaping confinement and other individuals with assisting them, resulted in an incarceration sentence of 40 months for one of those charged.

Trevor Scott Sparks, 33, Kansas City, MO, and Sergio Perez Martinez, 43, Panorama City, CA, were charged in a two-count Indictment with escape from confinement and aiding or assisting each other in escape from confinement.  Another individual, Steven Lydell Williams, Sr., 64, Kansas City, MO, was also charged in the Indictment with a single count of aiding or assisting in the escape. 

As of the drafting of this release, Perez Martinez remain at large, although Sparks was re-arrested December 30th, 2022. Williams, Sr., who has been in custody pending resolution of his charges since shortly after the escape, was sentenced for his role in that escape.  The Court sentenced him to 40 months in custody, consecutive to any sentence he may receive in two pending state cases that resulted from Missouri moving to revoke his parole from prior state felony convictions.

After arrests on federal felony warrants, and because of jury trial convictions and guilty pleas to various felony charges contained within several Western District of Missouri (WDMO) Federal Grand Jury indictments and various orders of WDMO Federal District Court Judge D. Greg Kays, Trevor Scott Sparks and Sergio Perez Martinez were confined in the Cass County, Missouri, Jail on multiple federal felonies.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement began investigating the escape of Sparks and Martinez from the Cass County Jail on or about December 5, 2022. On December 6, 2022, the United States Marshals Service was notified by Cass County, Missouri, that Sparks escaped from confinement and was seen leaving the facility at 10:22 p.m. on December 5, 2022. It was later determined that Sparks and Martinez, another inmate in the Cass County facility, escaped through subterfuge and damage to the facility from the Cass County Jail and fled east outside the jail into the surrounding rural community. From there, Defendant Williams picked them up in his vehicle and transported them to his apartment in Kansas City, Missouri, where they obtained clothes and food. Williams then transported them into the Northeast area of the Kansas City metropolitan area, where Williams dropped them off.  Sparks and his mother, Dawn Branstietter, were subsequently arrested in this same general area on December 30th.  Branstietter’s husband, John Baxter, was also later arrested on the same charges.  These three defendants are scheduled for sentencing later this month and in early September.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert Smith. It is being investigated by the United States Marshal Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City Police Department, and the Cass County Sheriff’s Department with other law enforcement agencies also assisting.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Grandview, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a $4.1 million drug-trafficking conspiracy, which is linked to two murders, and which distributed approximately 400 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas.

Markus Michael A. Patterson, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 560 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Patterson to pay a money judgment of $15,000, which represents the proceeds he received from the drug-trafficking conspiracy. That forfeiture amount is based on the unlawful distribution of approximately 400 kilograms of methamphetamine, based on an average price of $8,000 per kilogram.

On Oct. 24, 2022, Patterson pleaded guilty to participating in conspiracies to distribute methamphetamine and launder drug proceeds from Jan. 1, 2017, Sept. 1, 2018, to possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Patterson was arrested on Aug. 30, 2018, at a hotel in Phelps County, Mo. Officers found approximately one pound of methamphetamine (what remained from two pounds of methamphetamine Patterson brought to Phelps County from Kansas City, Mo.), $8,742 in cash, and drug paraphernalia in Patterson’s hotel room and car. The cash seized by officers was the proceeds of drug sales, which Patterson was supposed to return to his source in Kansas City.

The drug-trafficking organization with which Patterson was associated was responsible for two murders. In August 2018, James Hampton was seized by members of the same drug-trafficking conspiracy that supplied Patterson with the Phelps County methamphetamine. Patterson was in St. Louis, Mo., with this group when Hampton was seized. Hampton was seized because conspirators thought he could help find the drugs and money stolen by co-conspirator David Richards. When they realized Hampton could not or would not help, he was restrained and beaten. Hampton was then transported from St. Louis to Kansas City, in the trunk of his car. Brittanie Broyles, who was with Hampton and witnessed him being beaten and restrained, was also taken to Kansas City.

On Aug. 6, 2018, Hampton’s car and body were discovered burning in Bates City, Mo.  On Aug. 8, 2018, Broyles’s body was recovered near Super Flea in the Northeast area of Kansas City. She had been murdered by two gunshots to her head. Witnesses and video identified Patterson following co-defendant Gerald Ginnings, 43, of Kansas City, Mo., in a co-conspirator’s car as Ginnings drove Hampton’s car to Bates City. Ginnings pleaded guilty on Friday, Oct. 21, to the same charges as Patterson and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 25, 2023.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Patterson has prior felony convictions for involuntary manslaughter, distributing a controlled substance, and tampering with physical evidence.

Patterson is among 32 co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in this case and its companion case.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Robert M. Smith. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Sni Valley Fire Department, the Jackson, Lafayette, Buchanan, and Phelps County, Mo., Sheriff’s Departments, the FBI, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the St. James, Mo., Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A man popularly known as Kansas City Chiefs superfan “ChiefsAholic” was indicted by a federal grand jury today for robbing several financial institutions and laundering the proceeds through area casinos.

Xaviar Michael Babudar, 29, was charged in a 19-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Babudar on May 24, 2023, and includes additional charges.

Babudar, who lived a nomadic existence at various locations around the Kansas City metropolitan area, enjoyed a robust social media presence as Kansas City Chiefs superfan Twitter user @ChiefsAholic, attending most games dressed as a wolf in Chiefs clothing. According to the indictment, Babudar’s ability to attend these games and sustain this lifestyle was funded by his perpetration of a string of bank and credit union robberies throughout 2022. Babudar laundered the robbery proceeds through area casinos, and used the robbery proceeds to attend numerous Chiefs home and away games. He also placed various wagers on the outcomes of Chiefs games. During this time, the indictment says, Babudar did not report any wages earned in the states of Missouri or Kansas.

Today’s indictment charges Babudar with three counts of armed bank robbery, one count of bank theft, 11 counts of money laundering, and four counts of transporting stolen property across state lines.

Babudar allegedly stole $70,000 from the Clive, Iowa, branch of Great Western Bank on March 2, 2022. He then carried this money to Missouri, depositing it in two separate transactions into his personal savings account.

Babudar allegedly stole $170,860 from the Omaha, Nebraska, branch of First National Bank of Omaha on April 28, 2022. Omaha police officers recovered $163,560 following the theft.

Babudar allegedly stole $303,845 from the West Des Moines, Iowa, branch of First Class Community Credit Union on July 13, 2022. In the course of this robbery, Babudar allegedly brandished what appeared to be a silver and black firearm, jumped over the teller counter, and demanded that the bank employees open the bank vault. He carried this money back to Missouri, and the next day deposited $23,000 into his savings account. He used some of the proceeds to make various casino chip purchases over the next three months at casinos in Missouri and Illinois, then cashed out his winnings and deposited them into his savings account.

Babudar allegedly stole $125,900 from the Nashville, Tennessee, branch of The Tennessee Credit Union on Nov. 17, 2022. In the course of this robbery, Babudar allegedly brandished what appeared to be a silver and black firearm, climbed over the teller counter, and demanded that the bank employees take him to the bank vault. A few days later, he used some of the stolen money to purchase $20,000 in casino chips in multiple transactions from a local casino.

Babudar allegedly stole $25,000 from the Clive, Iowa, branch of First Interstate Bank on Nov. 30, 2022. Following two unsuccessful robberies of the Wings Financial Credit Union in Savage, Minn., and the Royal Credit Union in Apple Valley, Minn., on Nov. 29, 2022, the indictment says, Babudar returned to Clive, Iowa. The Great Western Bank that he had robbed on March 2, 2022, had become a branch of First Interstate Bank. In the course of this robbery, Babudar allegedly brandished what appeared to be a silver and black firearm, jumped over the teller counter, and ordered the bank employees at gunpoint to open the bank vault. Babudar then carried the stolen money back to Missouri, where he deposited a portion of it into his personal checking account.

Babudar was charged in Tulsa County, Okla., with the robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union on Dec. 16, 2022. Babudar was released on bond in February 2023.

Months earlier, the indictment says, Babudar had placed two winning bets at the Argosy Casino in Alton, Ill. On June 10, 2022, Babudar bet $5,000 that Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes II would win the Most Valuable Player at Super Bowl LVII, which would pay out $45,000 should that occur. Babudar also bet $5,000 that the Kansas City Chiefs would win Super Bowl LVII, which would pay out $55,000 should that occur. When the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl on Feb. 12, 2023, and Mahomes won the Most Valuable Player award, Babudar won $100,000. Argosy Casino mailed Babudar a $100,000 check in early March 2023.

Days later, the indictment says, Babudar cut his ankle monitor and fled from Oklahoma. Babudar evaded law enforcement until his arrest in Sacramento on July 7, 2023. He remains detained in federal custody without bond.

Following Babudar’s arrest in Oklahoma last December, FBI investigators began reviewing bank records, casino transaction records, and sensitive financial reporting to determine the breadth and scope of additional potential criminal activities. According to the affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Babudar purchased and redeemed more than $1 million in chips from various casinos in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois between April and December 2022. Investigators also reviewed previously unsolved bank robberies throughout the Midwest during that time frame. Babudar’s cell phone was placed in the same cities and locations for these previously unsolved bank robberies and attempted robberies, the affidavit says.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Daly and Stephanie C. Bradshaw. It was investigated by the FBI. The Placer County, Calif., Sheriff’s Department and the Lincoln, Calif., Police Department assisted in the arrest.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Honduran national, who was arrested after stabbing a man with a broken beer bottle, was sentenced in federal court on Monday, August 14, 2023, for illegally reentering the United States after committing an aggravated felony.

Jose Borjas-Gutierrez, 33, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 30 months in federal prison without parole.

On March 2, 2023, Borjas-Gutierrez pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry by an alien previously convicted of an aggravated felony. The defendant was initially arrested in 2022 after an argument resulted in Borjas-Gutierrez stabbing another man with a broken beer bottle. For that crime, Borjas-Gutierrez pled guilty to a state-level charge of assault in the second degree.

Prior to his arrest in this case, Borjas-Gutierrez had been deported from the United States on three separate occasions and had been convicted of illegally carrying a weapon and aggravated robbery in the state of Texas.  In his robbery case, Borjas-Gutierrez pointed a gun at a convenience store clerk and took approximately $20,000 from a cash register and safe.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Olathe, Kansas, man who led police officers on a high-speed chase down a runway at the downtown airport was sentenced in federal court today for disrupting airport operations as well as illegally possessing a firearm.

Efren Torres-Rodriguez, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 78 months in federal prison without parole.

On March 8, 2023, Torres-Rodriguez pleaded guilty to damaging and disrupting an international airport and to being a felon and an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.

Kansas City, Mo., police officers were notified of a suspicious car, a Dodge Charger, parked near a gate at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport on Feb. 1, 2022. When officers arrived, they found Torres-Rodriguez passed out in the driver’s seat of the running car. Officers turned off the car and opened the door, which woke up Torres-Rodriguez.

Officers ordered Torres-Rodriguez out of the car, but he refused. Instead, Torres-Rodriguez started the vehicle and drove away, crashing through the gate to the airfield. Torres-Rodriguez drove at speeds up to 100 miles per hour down the airport runway, with officers in pursuit. Torres-Rodriguez drove on a tarmac on the west side of the airfield. When he attempted to cross over the airstrip into a grassy area, his vehicle became inoperable. Officers removed Torres-Rodriguez from the vehicle and placed him under arrest. Officers found a clear plastic bag in his pants pocket that contained 4.6 grams of methamphetamine.

When officers searched Torres-Rodriguez’s vehicle, they found a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, which were both empty of ammunition, under the driver’s seat. They also found several rounds of ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony or who is an illegal user of a controlled substance to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Torres-Rodriguez has prior felony convictions for possession of a firearm with a prior violent offense and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Torres-Rodriguez also admitted to using methamphetamine every other day and to smoking marijuana daily since he was 15 years old.

As a result of Torres-Rodriguez’s actions, the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport’s activities were significantly disrupted. For approximately 40 minutes, operations at the airport were closed and planes were not allowed to land or take off. Torres-Rodriguez interfered with the operations at the airport as two aircrafts had delayed departures, one aircraft had a delayed arrival and had to remain airborne for approximately 50 minutes, one aircraft had to cancel its flight and one aircraft did not depart. When Torres-Rodriguez crashed his vehicle through the Downtown Airport’s gate, he destroyed the gate and caused serious damage to the facility’s fence that is designed to keep both trespassers and animals away from the runways. At sentencing, the parties presented evidence that Torres-Rodriguez caused over $23,000 in damage to the airport.  The insurance covering the vehicle driven by Torres-Rodriguez paid for all damages to the airport prior to sentencing.  Torres-Rodriguez’s actions also served to endanger the safety of the persons utilizing the air navigation facility. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.