DOJ News Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Officers Found Illegal Drugs, Firearms after KC Man Called 911 for His Mother

Felon Pleads Guilty to Meth Trafficking, Illegal Firearms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man who called 911 emergency assistance for his mother pleaded guilty in federal court today after the police officers who responded to his home found illegal drugs, six firearms he illegally possessed, and large amounts of cash.

Michael Thomas Cummings II, also known as “Blue,” 40, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.

Kansas City police officers arrived at Cummings’s residence shortly before midnight on June 7, 2021, after he had called 911 for his mother because she was unresponsive. Emergency medical personnel were in the process of attempting lifesaving measures when police officers arrived, but she was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at approximately 12:04 a.m. on June 8, 2021. Cummings, who lived with his mother, told officers she suffered from cognitive decline. Officers noted she appeared to be emaciated.

Officers saw a loaded Heckler & Koch .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol sitting next to $438 in cash on a table. They also saw an SKS-style 7.62 x 54mm assault rifle with a magazine leaning against the wall of a back stairwell that led to the basement. Cummings, a felon, was arrested for illegally possessing the firearms.

Officers executed a search warrant at Cummings’s residence later the same day. They found a total of 351.37 grams of methamphetamine in Cummings’s bedroom and a Pioneer Arms 7.62 x 39mm AKM-47 style pistol in a bedroom closet. On a desk in the bedroom, officers also found a baggie that contained approximately .24 grams of fentanyl/heroin, and two baggies that contained approximately 28.1 grams of crack cocaine, as well as a baggie of marijuana in a desk drawer. Officers also found $3,512 in cash in the bedroom.

Officers found a Ruger .22-caliber pistol in another bedroom that had been converted into a weight room.

In a third bedroom, officers found a Smith and Wesson AR-15 style assault rifle in the closet and a safe that contained $175,100 in cash and a Ruger revolver that had been reported as stolen.

Officers also found $180 under the couch cushion, and sodium sulfate, which is often used by drug dealers as a cutting agent to dilute drugs, on a coffee table.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Cummings has a prior felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance.

Under federal statutes, Cummings is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life 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 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), 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.