United States Drug Enforcement Administration

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and for illegally possessing a firearm.

John A. Caylor, 55, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Tuesday, April 16, to 13 years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 20, 2023, Caylor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Caylor admitted that he participated in the drug-trafficking conspiracy from Feb. 28, 2020, to Sept. 20, 2022.

Co-defendant Jose Jesus Sanchez-Mendez, 42, a citizen of Mexico who illegally entered the United States, pleaded guilty on Sept. 20, 2023, to his role as the chief local operative of the drug-trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl sourced from Mexico. Sanchez-Mendez managed the importation, processing, and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

During the conspiracy, Caylor sold methamphetamine and other illegal drugs to a confidential informant on eight separate occasions. Caylor was arrested when he met the confidential informant for a ninth transaction, at which time Caylor was in possession of approximately 29.8 grams of methamphetamine.

Law enforcement officers searched Caylor’s hotel room and found a loaded Bersa .380-caliber handgun under a pillow on the bed, approximately 525.3 grams of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.

Caylor is among 44 defendants charged in this case, and among seven defendants who have been sentenced. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled for Sanchez-Mendez.

On June 8, 2022, investigators made 34 arrests, executed 16 search warrants and seized 84.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, 4.5 kilograms of heroin, 10.4 kilograms of fentanyl, 7.6 kilograms of cocaine, 10.5 kilograms of marijuana, 687 Xanax pills, 3.1 kilograms of unknown pills, a quantity of bulk cash, five firearms, a 3D printer with manufactured ghost gun parts, and a liquid methamphetamine conversion lab.

The Drug Enforcement Administration was one of a number of federal, state and local agencies involved in the investigation.

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.