United States Drug Enforcement Administration

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Louis Melvin Williamson, 51, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Williamson’s sentence to be served consecutively to any sentence imposed in a separate case in Clay County, Mo.

On Oct. 4, 2022, Williamson pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Aug. 11 to Oct. 14, 2020.

Co-defendant Kurt Thomas Kingsley, 40, of Independence, was sentenced on April 6, 2023, to seven years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The court ordered his sentence to be served consecutively to any sentence imposed in a separate case in the District of Kansas.

Co-defendant Kenneth James Paulson, 52, of Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2022, to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and awaits sentencing.

Williams sold bulk quantities of methamphetamine to other dealers, including Kingsley, who in turn sold to Paulson. Williamson also sold smaller quantities to methamphetamine users. Paulson admitted that he purchased methamphetamine from Kingsley and sold bulk quantities to lower level dealers.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, through undercover agents and confidential informants, made controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Paulson at his home and at a movie theater parking lot in Grain Valley, Mo. On Oct. 13, 2020, DEA agents stopped Paulson’s car in Blue Springs while he was on his way to another undercover controlled purchase. Agents found 145 grams of 99 percent pure methamphetamine in his car. Agents also searched his residence and found 226 grams of 99 percent pure methamphetamine in his garage. Agents also found a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver in his garage.

On Oct. 14, 2020, Kingsley arrived at Paulson’s residence for an arranged drug sale. DEA agents found a black backpack on the passenger’s seat of Kingsley’s Ford F-150 that contained 46.7 grams of pure methamphetamine.

DEA investigated this case.