Category: Kansas City Missouri

16 metro area residents indicted for drug trafficking conspiracy

Sixteen residents of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and Independence, Missouri, have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Ublester Molina, 26, Kevin O. Alarcon, 25, Rocky Orozco, 30, Salvador Valdivia, 40, Stephen Manning, 33, Carlos Ramos, 21, Joel Vargas, 30, Danzell Walker, 31, Gerald Knight, 43, Tatiana Ray, 29, and Ana Morales, 27, all of Kansas City, Missouri; Robert Manley Jr., 30, Bernard Kelly, 35, and Miranda Sanchez, 40, all of Kansas City, Kansas; Christian Love-Barker, 26, and Tyreece Dickerson, 34, both of Independence, Missouri; were charged in a 19-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, June 21.

That indictment was unsealed and made public June 23 following the arrests of most of the defendants in a metro-wide law enforcement operation Thursday.

The federal indictment alleges that 13 of the defendants (with the exceptions of Ray, Morales, and Sanchez) participated in a conspiracy to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine and fentanyl, from Jan. 1, 2019, to June 21, 2022. According to the indictment, Orozco, Manley, and Valdivia were leaders of the conspiracy.

Orozco, Manley, Valdivia, Ray, Morales, and Sanchez are also charged with participating in a money-laundering conspiracy from Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 9, 2020. They allegedly engaged in financial transactions that involved the proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

In addition to the conspiracies, various defendants are charged in seven separate counts related to drug trafficking and nine separate counts related to using their cell phones to facilitate a drug-trafficking crime.

Walker is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He allegedly was in possession of a Springfield .40-caliber handgun on Aug. 16, 2021.

The charges will be presented to a federal jury, which will determine guilt or innocence.
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This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Moeder, Patrick Edwards, and Mary Kate Butterfield. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Injuries reported after chase and crash

A Ford Fusion fleeing from law enforcement at 1:59 p.m. Monday, June 20, was involved in an accident on the Turner Diagonal, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper’s report.

The driver and a passenger had possible injuries and were taken to a hospital, according to the trooper’s report.

The driver, 20, a male, was a resident of Kansas City, Missouri, and the passenger, 21, a male, was a resident of Independence, Missouri, according to the report.

According to the trooper’s report, the Fusion was fleeing law enforcement northbound on the Turner Diagonal. It entered the ramp to eastbound I-70 too fast, went off the left side of the ramp, off the embankment, across the eastbound lanes of I-70 and struck the median barrier, the trooper’s report stated.

The driver and passenger were not wearing seat belts, according to the report.