Saturday, January 28, 2023
Friday, January 27, 2023
Monday, January 23, 2023
Overland Park Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud
DOJ News Release:
Overland Park Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas woman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for bank fraud.
According to court documents, Stephenie Stites, 52, of Overland Park worked as the accounts payable clerk for Norbrook Inc. In 2020, Norbrook noticed accounting discrepancies and when confronted, Stites admitted to making approximately $72,000 in unauthorized charges on the company’s credit card. A full review showed she’d embezzled more than $712,000 from Norbrook by creating two fake companies and manipulating invoices. As indicated in her plea agreement, Stites spent the stolen money to pay for personal expenses such as home and vehicle expenses, travel, hotels, real estate, and other disbursements.
A federal judge sentenced Stites to 33 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $712,890.27 in restitution to the victim company.
Charles Dayoub, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Office of the FBI said, “Stites perpetuated a scheme, misappropriating funds to fake companies and misusing company credit cards for personal gain. Her actions resulted in the embezzlement of over $700,000 and violated the trust placed in her by her employer. This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to investigate financial fraud and to hold those individuals accountable for their actions.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan J. Huschka prosecuted the case.
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Lawrence Man Convicted of Threatening U.S. Congressman
DOJ News Release:
Lawrence Man Convicted of Threatening U.S. Congressman
TOPEKA, KAN. – A federal jury convicted a Kansas man today for making death threats against a United States congressman.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Chase Neill, 32, of Lawrence was found guilty of one count of threatening to murder U.S. Representative Jake LaTurner of Kansas.
Neill is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11, 2023 at 9 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Skip Jacobs and Steve Hunting are prosecuting the case.
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Friday, January 13, 2023
Independence Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Meth Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
DOJ News Release:
Independence Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Meth Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing several firearms.
Christopher Dorrell, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole.
On Jan. 18, 2022, Dorrell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.
Dorrell admitted that he distributed at least five kilograms of methamphetamine during the conspiracy that began in 2018 and lasted throughout 2019.
On Feb. 4, 2019, Dorrell was driving a gold 2002 GMC Yukon that was stopped by Kansas City, Mo., police officers as it was leaving a known drug house. When a passenger in the vehicle fled on foot, Dorrell fled in the vehicle. He failed to stop at a stop sign and nearly struck other motorists as he entered the roadway. Officers pursued him and later found the abandoned vehicle near the intersection of 42nd Street and Agnes Avenue. They found a loaded Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the driver’s seat and a Remington 12-gauge pump action sawed-off shotgun between the front passenger seat and the center console. A Kevlar vest and a large quantity of ammunition in various calibers was in the back seat.
Kansas City police officers arrested Dorrell again on June 11, 2019, when they were contacted by employees of a local hotel, who suspected drug trafficking was occurring in one of the rooms. Dorrell was seen getting into a stolen BMW in the hotel parking lot when officers arrived, and was in the hotel room where officers arrested another person. Officers searched the BMW and found a .22-caliber Henry rifle, a Sig Saur P228, a Taurus .38-special revolver, ammunition, and 146 grams of methamphetamine. Dorrell admitted the firearms and methamphetamine belonged to him.
On Nov. 15, 2019, Dorrell was arrested on a federal warrant in this case. He was in possession of a loaded SCY 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen, a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun and a loaded Ruger .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Dorrell has a prior felony conviction for leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, as well as 38 misdemeanor convictions.
Dorrell is the fifth defendant in this case to be sentenced. Four co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Moeder and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Baker. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, 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.
KC Woman Sentenced for Armed Robbery of Pizza Delivery Driver
DOJ News Release:
KC Woman Sentenced for Armed Robbery of Pizza Delivery Driver
Suspect Killed in Shootout with Police Officers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for the armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver, after a suspect involved in the robbery was killed during a shootout with police officers.
Rochelle E. David, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 14 years in federal prison without parole.
On April 28, 2022, David pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Her brother, Samuel M. David, 20, has pleaded guilty to the same charges and awaits sentencing.
Rochelle David placed an order for pizza to a Pizza Hut restaurant on Oct. 19, 2020, in order to lure a Pizza Hut employee to her address to conduct an armed robbery with the assistance of Samuel David and Ennice Ross. When the delivery driver arrived at about 10:18 p.m., Samuel David and Ross confronted him in the parking lot. Ross displayed a firearm in his waistband and Samuel David demanded the driver’s money. Samuel David went through the driver’s pockets, taking a wallet and knife from him. They also took $100 in cash from the driver’s vehicle.
Ross ordered the delivery driver to take them to an ATM to withdraw more money from the driver’s bank account. The driver took them to a gas station, where Samuel David attempted to use the driver’s bank car to withdraw money from an ATM. Samuel David returned to the car and told Ross he wasn’t able to withdraw any money. Samuel David stabbed the driver in the hand with the driver’s knife.
Samuel David ordered the delivery driver to take them to his residence in Gladstone, Mo., where he lived with his parents, while Rochelle David followed in a separate vehicle. Samuel David and Ross accompanied the driver into his residence, where they encountered the driver’s parents. Ross stayed with the driver’s parents while Samuel David walked the driver to his bedroom, where the driver opened a safe that contained approximately $2,000. Samuel David took the safe, and he and Ross left the residence.
On Oct. 23, 2020, police officers were conducting surveillance in the area where the armed robberies occurred in an effort to locate Rochelle David in connection with an unrelated homicide investigation. She was seen leaving the apartment building in a vehicle with Samuel David and Ross. Officers conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle in the area of Admiral and Tracy. Samuel David and another person got out of the vehicle, but Rochelle David and Ross stayed in the vehicle. Rochelle David told Ross that one of the officers who stopped them was the one who recently chased her. Shortly before she got out of the vehicle, she told Ross, “Shoot the one with the red hair first.” Rochelle David then got out of the vehicle, after which Ross opened his door and fired on officers with his gun. The officers returned fire, which resulted in his death.
After being arrested, Rochelle David was questioned about the homicide. She admitted that Ross wanted to kill a homeless person and she was with him when they picked up a homeless man in Kansas City on Oct. 21, 2020. They drove around for a time with the victim, then Ross got out of the vehicle and she saw him shoot the victim.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Former Drug Treatment Clinic Owner Sentenced for Meth Trafficking
DOJ News Release:
Former Drug Treatment Clinic Owner Sentenced for Meth Trafficking
Olathe Man Distributed Drugs While Treating Clients with Drug Addiction
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The former owner of an Olathe, Kansas, clinic that treated opioid addiction has been sentenced in federal court for possessing methamphetamine to distribute.
Trevor J. Robinson, 46, of Olathe, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Tuesday, Jan. 10, to 11 years and three months in federal prison without parole.
Robinson owned and operated Nuvista, LLC, a Suboxone outpatient clinic in Olathe for individuals with opioid addiction, from June 2013 until his arrest in October 2020, after which the business closed. On Nov. 3, 2021, Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, Robinson used the Nuvista clinic location to process, store, and distribute methamphetamine. A confidential informant purchased a pound of methamphetamine from Robinson during a controlled transaction in the clinic’s parking lot a few days before his arrest. Robinson also showed the confidential informant another pound of methamphetamine inside the Nuvista clinic that he was in the process of converting from liquid to crystal.
Although the government does not currently have evidence Robinson sold drugs to specific clients of the clinic, according to court documents, the evidence does show he distributed drugs into the same community he was trying to service with treatment. Robinson was a large-scale supplier and did not sell directly to users, who would be clients of the clinic. Therefore, the government maintains it is possible the drugs he distributed made their way to the addicts he was also treating.
Robinson admitted he was in possession of illegal drugs when he was arrested by Kansas City police officers on Oct. 22, 2020. Law enforcement officers had Robinson, who had an outstanding arrest warrant, under surveillance at a Northland hotel. Robinson conducted several short meetings with individuals in the parking lot. Those meetings were consistent with hand-to-hand drug transactions. Robinson left the hotel carrying a grey backpack, got into his Dodge Ram truck, and drove to a downtown parking garage. Robinson left his truck in the parking garage and drove away in his 2014 Maserati, which he parked on the street nearby. Officers then surrounded the Maserati and arrested Robinson.
Robinson was in possession of a plastic bag that contained 15 white round pills imprinted with “M30” in his front right pocket and $900 in his wallet. Laboratory tests confirmed 14 of the pills contained fentanyl and one pill contained oxycodone.
Officers searched Robinson’s Maserati and found a grey backpack on the front passenger’s seat. The backpack contained a digital scale, plastic bags that contained approximately 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, plastic bags that contained cocaine and heroin, several plastic bags that contained various pills, including MDMA/ecstasy, a plastic bag that contained marijuana, $12,548 in cash, two iPhones, and a leather-bound ledger notebook.
After his arrest, Robinson told investigators that he sold methamphetamine in ounce or pound quantities. He admitted he bought pound and kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from at least three different suppliers on a regular basis. He paid $6,000 per pound of methamphetamine, which he sold for about $700 per ounce.
According to court documents, Robinson has four prior felony convictions for drug trafficking in California from 1999 through 2003. He was released to parole in 2005 and discharged from supervision in 2008.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh A. Ragner. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, and the Northeast Kansas Drug Task Force.
Sunday, January 8, 2023
Thursday, January 5, 2023
KC Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Meth Conspiracy, Illegal Firearms
DOJ News Release:
KC Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Meth Conspiracy, Illegal Firearms
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 firearms.
Richard Maples, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
On April 25, 2022, Maples pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 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.
Maples admitted that he was involved in the distribution of at least five kilograms of methamphetamine during his involvement in the drug-trafficking conspiracy from 2017 to 2019.
Maples sold large quantities of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer on three separate occasions in March and April 2018. After selling 111 grams of methamphetamine to a co-defendant on March 26, 2018, law enforcement officers attempted to stop Maples but he fled at a high rate of speed and eluded them.
On May 14, 2018, Maples was arrested during a car stop while he was in possession of 251 grams of methamphetamine, a Springfield Armory XD-40, a Taurus PT-145, a Vulcan, and $2,330 in cash that must be forfeited to the government. Maples was arrested again on June 18, 2019, at a hotel in Kansas City, Mo. He attempted to flee from officers in a stolen vehicle and struck light fixtures and a fence before disabling the vehicle. One of the pursuing police vehicles struck a parked vehicle. Inside the stolen vehicle, officers found methamphetamine, a firearm, and drug paraphernalia. Law enforcement officers also found 18 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia in his hotel room.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who is convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Maples has prior felony convictions for possessing a cocaine, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property, and burglary. He was on felony parole when he committed the crimes in this case. Maples also has 20 misdemeanor convictions that include stealing and stolen property offenses, traffic offenses, fleeing, and assault.
Maples is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in this case. Six co-defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Moeder. It was investigated by the FBI and the Jackson County Drug Task Force.
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.