Jury Convicts KC Man in Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was convicted by a federal trial jury today of participating in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine in Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.
Theodore S. Wiggins, also known as Theo,
31, of Kansas City, was found guilty of both counts contained in a May 26, 2010, federal indictment.
Wiggins, who was also convicted of selling crack cocaine to an undercover officer, purchased cocaine from co-defendant Shawn Hampton, also known as Smoke,
36, of Raytown, Mo. Investigators estimate that during the course of the investigation, which began on Feb. 3, 2010, Hampton’s organization was responsible for acquiring and distributing 35 to 40 kilograms of cocaine and crack cocaine in Kansas City.
Hampton purchased kilogram quantities of cocaine from co-defendant Ricardo Nevarez, 30, of Kansas City, Kan., who was supplied by co-defendant Alfonso Velo, 47, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Kan. This cocaine was then distributed to Hampton's associates in Kansas City.
Investigators learned that almost immediately after acquiring cocaine from Nevarez, usually in the amount of one or two kilograms, Hampton and his associates would begin calling and receiving calls from hundreds of potential customers for crack cocaine.
Hampton, Nevarez and Velo are among 22 defendants who have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Under federal statutes, Wiggins is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $5 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner, ending a trial that began Monday, June 4, 2012.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Venneman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sydney M. Sanders. It was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Justice Special Operations Division and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at
http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/index.html
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