meth conspiracy Archives

Missouri

Kansas City, MO: Eleven More Defendants Indicted for $4.1 Million Meth Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, MO (STL.News) Eleven residents in the Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Joseph, Missouri, areas have been added to a federal indictment that now charges a total of 25 defendants for their roles in a $4.1 million drug-trafficking conspiracy that distributed more than 520 kilograms of methamphetamine over three years. Bobbie Lynn King, 51, and Patricia Gail Nelson, also known as “Mama Pat,” 60, both of Kansas City, Missouri; Michael Glen Zieger, also known as “Lee’s Summit Mike,” 43, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; Amanda Leigh Watson, 33, of St. Joseph, Missouri; and Logan Tanner Laws, 28, of Shelbina, Missouri, were arrested on July 23, 2020, after being charged in a six-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on July 21, 2020. That in...

Missouri

Independence MO Man, Daniel W. Pendergrass Sentenced to 14 Years for Meth Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, MO (STL.News) An Independence, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Daniel W. Pendergrass, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 14 years and one month in federal prison without parole. On June 12, 2019, Pendergrass pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Pendergrass was an active participant in a methamphetamine distribution operation that distributed more than 40 kilograms of methamphetamine throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. He coordinated methamphetamine transactions, distributed methamphetamine to individuals, collected and counted the money received for the methamphetamine, and used his vehicle to distribute methamphetamine....

Missouri

Springfield MO Woman, Deidra C. Mathews Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, MO (STL.News) A Springfield, Missouri, woman pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to her role in a conspiracy that distributed at least 4.5 kilograms of pure methamphetamine in Laclede County, Missouri. Deidra C. Mathews, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Laclede County from Nov. 28, 2018, to May 21, 2019. She remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing. By pleading guilty today, Mathews admitted she distributed approximately nine pounds of methamphetamine between February and April 2019. She received one pound of methamphetamine each week from a co-conspirator, for which she paid $4,500. The overall conspiracy involved the distribution of at least 4.5 kilograms o...

General

Mexican National, Armando Quintana-Galaz, Who Illegally Entered the U.S. Seven Times Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

Officers Found More Than Three Kilos of Meth at Armando Quintana-Galazs' Springfield Residence KANSAS CITY, MO (STL.News) - A Mexican national who has illegally entered the United States at least seven times pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in the Kansas City, Missouri, area and in the Springfield, Missouri, area. Armando Quintana-Galaz, 37, a citizen of Mexico residing in Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lajuana M. Counts to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He also pleaded guilty to possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and to illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. Quintana-Galaz had been deported from t...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Springfield Business Owner, Christopher A. Jefferson, Sentenced to 25 Years for Leading Meth Conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, MO (STL.News) - A Springfield, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for leading a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine. Christopher A. Jefferson, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 25 years in federal prison without parole. Jefferson, who has two prior state convictions for distribution/delivery of a controlled substance, was sentenced as a career offender due to his prior drug-trafficking convictions. Jefferson owned a car repair business in Springfield. On Oct. 25, 2018, Jefferson pleaded guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy that lasted from Dec. 2, 2016, to Jan. 23, 2018. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers seized a total of 5.342 kilograms of methamphetamine ...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Missouri News: Six Missourians Among 15 Indicted for Large-Scale Meth Conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, MO (STL.News) - Six southern Missouri residents are among 15 defendants indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a large-scale methamphetamine conspiracy that involved multi-pound shipments of methamphetamine transported from Arizona to Missouri. Gregory L. Hopper, 34, and Amanda L. Robinson, 27, both of Springfield, Mo.; Leslie T. Ray, 49, and Melissa D. Melencamp, 42, both of Branson, Mo.; Olivia L. Fluke, 34, of Reeds Spring, Mo.; Jason C. Brookshire, 37, of Aurora, Mo.; Manual Edgardo Cortez, also known as “Manny,” 44, Mel Chevez Arnold, 57, Estelle E. Lawson, 50, and George G. Galaz, Jr., 45, all of Tuscon, Ariz.; Christopher K. Perez, also known as “Wombat,” 31, of Silver City, N.M.; Jedediah L. Selke, 44, of Silver City, N.M.; Diandre Valentine, 32, of Chica...

Missouri, Missouri General News

Springfield Man, Kenneth R. Friend, Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, MO (STL.News) - A Springfield, Missouri man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy that distributed 45 kilograms of methamphetamine in southwest Missouri. Kenneth R. Friend, 48, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Friday, April 5, to participating in the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene, Polk, Christian, Jasper, Laclede, and Webster Counties from June 1, 2013, through Nov. 29, 2014. Friend also pleaded guilty to money laundering by engaging in monetary transactions to promote unlawful activity. Beginning in 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by other agencies, investigated one of the largest methamphetamine distribution rings in southwest Missouri. The investigation resu...