Category: Overland Park

Kansas City, Mo., woman pleads guilty in drug case

A Kansas City, Missouri, woman pleaded guilty today to selling heroin that caused a user’s near-fatal overdose, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Loretta Gilliard, 34, Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.

The investigation began when a user from Overland Park, Kansas, bought heroin from Gilliard and then overdosed and lost consciousness. Emergency medical technicians responded and saved the user’s life by administering an opioid reversing agent called Narcan.

Investigators learned that Gilliard had sold heroin to the user more than 100 times, usually two to four times a week. Investigators made controlled buys from Gilliard.

Sentencing will be set for a later date. Both parties have agreed to recommend 84 months in federal prison. McAllister commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania for their work on the case.

Postal worker sentenced for delivering marijuana

A former postal worker in Johnson County was sentenced Tuesday to five years on federal probation for smuggling marijuana through the mail, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Terrell Dewayne Shears, 25, Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. In his plea, he admitted he gave addresses on his route to marijuana traffickers in Arizona.

The traffickers mailed parcels containing marijuana to addresses on his route and Shears intercepted the packages, according to his plea. Shears dropped the packages off at an apartment building where he had been instructed to leave them and texted a recipient he knew only by a first name to pick them up.

Investigators seized more than 40 pounds of marijuana from his postal vehicle, according to authorities.

Beall commended the U.S. Postal Service and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Ward for their work on the case.

Former Overland Park CPA pleads guilty to filing false tax return

A former Kansas CPA pleaded guilty Tuesday to filing a false tax return, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Robert M. Purinton, 69, formerly of Overland Park, Kan., now of Rancho Mirage, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement on his 2009 tax return by under-reporting his income by about $202,000.

He agreed to make restitution of $71,543 for the additional taxes due and owing for that year. He also agreed to make restitution of $34,512 for 2010, although he did not plead guilty to any criminal activity for that year. During those years, he was a CPA with an accounting firm in Overland Park.

The sentencing date will be set after his presentence report is completed. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000, and total restitution of $106,055. Beall commended the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton for their work on the case.