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...

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...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Thursday sentenced a man to 15 years to prison for selling fake pills containing fentanyl that killed a St. Charles County, Missouri, man last year. Andrew Kendall Edwards, 27, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in May to one count...

ST. LOUIS – Thirteen people accused of involvement in a conspiracy to sell drugs including fentanyl and methamphetamine in the St. Louis area were arrested this week. The final defendant was arrested Thursday in Miami. The final St. Louis defendants pleaded not guilty to their charges Wednesday in U.S. District...

WICHITA, Kan.– A Kansas man pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. According to court documents, Grant Lubbers, 37, of Wichita was arrested in April 2021 in Andover, Kansas. Law enforcement had been investigating Lubbers for fentanyl trafficking. Using a search warrant...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Kansas City, Kansas, company entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal government to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that a retail pharmacy it owns violated the civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. Four B. Corporation, doing business as Balls Food Stores, owns...

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...

WICHITA, Kan. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging John Ray Gaffney, 45, of Wichita on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wichita Police Department are investigating the case. In a separate case, Johnny Lee Ivory III...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Thursday sentenced one of the leaders of a murderous St. Louis drug trafficking organization to 20 years in prison. Maurice Herbert Lee II, 35, obtained bulk fentanyl and crystal methamphetamine from Arizona and supplied it to his co-conspirators, who sold...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A U.S. District judge sentenced a California man to 21 year and 10 months in prison after he admitted to leading a drug conspiracy ring targeting communities in southern Illinois. Thomas Hines, 33, of Los Angeles, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute...