KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy that distributed more than 2,600 kilograms of cocaine in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Jesus Salvador Campoy-Estrada, also known as “Chava” and “Chavita,” 27, of Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced by...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Two West Plains, Missouri, residents were sentenced in federal court today for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in Howell, Greene, and Texas counties. Shirley J. Hicks, 64, and Shaun M. Ross, 44, both of West Plains, were sentenced in separate hearings...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Billings, Missouri, man who belongs to the Aryan Brotherhood pleaded guilty in federal court today to methamphetamine trafficking. Jimmy Jack Pinkley, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. By pleading guilty...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing methamphetamine and a firearm. Michael Allen Dicks, Jr., 32, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Dicks pleaded guilty on Feb. 23...

LOS ANGELES —Today, law enforcement investigators served nine arrest warrants in multiple locations throughout Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. In March of 2020, the DEA launched Operation Crystal Shield to focus efforts on main U.S. methamphetamine trafficking transportation hubs. DEA identified eight major methamphetamine transportation hubs where Operation Crystal Shield...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Aurora, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase from Bolivar, Mo., to Springfield, Mo. Milton W. Sparks, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal...

ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted Steven Bell, along with 19 other defendants, for charges that include conspiracy to distribute heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in a large-scale nationwide drug ring. The group transported and distributed illegal narcotics in numerous states to include California, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky and...

LOS ANGELES —The culmination of a three-month investigation resulted in a Santa Barbara methamphetamine distributor being sentenced on November 8, 2021 to 180 months in federal prison for narcotics violations. Cesar Castillo-Pena, 35, of San Bernardino, California, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. On July 28...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Lamondra Beckley, 43, of St. Louis, was sentenced to 147 months in prison on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois. Beckley had previously pled guilty in federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Mexican nationals have been convicted by a federal trial jury for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Kansas City metropolitan area and in northwest Missouri. Juan Guzman, also known as “Flaco,” 40, of Kansas City...