U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
Recent News About U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
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Rasta, Court Therapy Dog, Honored for Service to Children
U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore presented the annual Crystal Kipper & Ali Kemp Memorial Award to Rasta, a courtroom therapy dog, and his handler, Jennifer Vernon, in Kansas City. The award, given during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, recognizes the valuable contribution of individuals or organizations in preventing and responding to the exploitation of children.“Every dog lover has had the experience of being comforted by their devoted canine friend,” said Moore, highlighting Rasta's role in providing a calming influence for traumatized children during legal proceedings....
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Republic Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
A Republic, Missouri man has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to fentanyl trafficking and illegal firearms. Tonikko Fewell, 34, admitted to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and illegally owning several firearms. The guilty plea was made before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Fewell had been involved in two instances where he fled from law enforcement officers. In one incident on August 16, 2021, officers found a significant amount of fentanyl, cash, and stolen firearms at Fewell's...
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Webb City Woman Sentenced to 20 Years for Kidnapping Conspiracy, Illegal Firearm
A Webb City, Mo., woman, Amy Kay Thomas, 40, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole for her involvement in a kidnapping conspiracy that led to the torture and death of the victim, as well as for illegally possessing a firearm. U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool handed down the sentence.Thomas admitted to her role in the conspiracy, where she participated in the kidnapping of the victim known as "M.H." She was part of a group that bound, assaulted, and ultimately killed M.H. The prosecution revealed that Thomas had prior felony convictions for...
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Marine at Fort Leonard Wood Sentenced for Child Pornography
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A U.S. Marine Corps private, Gevoni Rayon Brown, stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole for transporting child pornography across state lines. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Tuesday.Brown, 23, was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after his incarceration and to pay $24,000 in restitution to eight victims of child pornography found on his cell phone. Additionally, he must register as a sex offender upon release and comply...
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Former KC Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Produce Child Pornography
Former Kansas City man, Wyatt Christopher Maxwell, also known as “Louis Whitaker,” pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to produce child pornography. Maxwell, who lived in Kansas City at the time of the offense before moving to Mexico, admitted to one count of attempting to produce child pornography.According to the plea agreement, the Overland Park, Kansas, Police Department received tips in February 2021 that Maxwell was producing child pornography with a 16-year-old resident of Overland Park. Maxwell had been recording sexually explicit videos of the victim...
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KC Man Sentenced for Meth Conspiracy, Illegal Firearm
John A. Caylor, a Kansas City man, has been sentenced to 13 years and six months in federal prison without parole for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy and illegal possession of a firearm. U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips handed down the sentence on Tuesday, April 16.Caylor pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and heroin and possessing a firearm in connection with drug trafficking. He confessed to taking part in the conspiracy from February 28, 2020, to September 20, 2022.According to court documents, Caylor sold illegal drugs to a...
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Former Federal Contract Employee Sentenced to 18 Years for Child Pornography
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Lenexa, Kansas, man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison without parole for possession and distribution of child pornography. Shaun Walker, 41, currently residing in Springfield, Mo., received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough.Walker, a former employee of Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology, was found with child pornography on his personal cell phone while in a secure area at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Security Campus in Kansas City, Mo. He pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute...
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Neosho Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Kidnapping Conspiracy, Illegal Firearm
A Neosho, Mo., man, James B. Gibson, also known as “Gibby,” has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison without parole for his involvement in a kidnapping conspiracy that led to the torture and death of the victim, as well as for illegally possessing a firearm. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.Gibson's co-defendant, Lawrence William Vaughan, also known as “Scary Larry,” received a 25-year sentence back in 2013. Four other co-defendants are awaiting sentencing in the case, including Russell Eugene Hurtt, Amy Kay Thomas, Freddie...
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Springfield Man Receives 15-Year Sentence for Illegal Firearm Possession
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes sentenced Walter Tyndal, 59, to 15 years in federal prison without parole for illegally possessing a firearm. Tyndal, deemed an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions, will serve this federal sentence consecutively to any parole revocation sentence in an unrelated state case.Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher prosecuted the case, which stemmed from Tyndal's guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm on Dec. 14, 2023. Tyndal was apprehended on Nov. 23, 2021, for a parole violation...
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Belton, Raymore Brothers Plead Guilty to Drug-Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
Two Cass County, Mo., brothers, Serjio Diaz and Tony Diaz, have pleaded guilty in federal court to their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and to illegally possessing firearms. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, Serjio and Tony Diaz each admitted to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy with others that lasted from approximately January 1, 2019, until June 22, 2021.During the investigation, it was revealed that multiple controlled transactions took place between Serjio and Tony Diaz and law enforcement. These transactions included the...
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Lee’s Summit Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography, Sextortion Scheme
A Lee’s Summit, Mo., man, Marek Redding, has pleaded guilty in federal court to a sextortion scheme involving threatening victims, including minors, to extort them into sending pornographic images and videos of themselves. Redding, 20, admitted to inducing minor victims to produce child pornography and distributing it, as well as extorting an adult victim for more photographs."Redding admitted that he induced two minor victims to produce child pornography...and that he transmitted threats to injure the reputation of an adult victim," stated court documents.Through the...
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Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
A man arrested in St. Joseph, Mo., with a significant amount of methamphetamine in his possession has pleaded guilty in federal court to drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms. Mark Edmundson, 49, pleaded guilty to multiple charges including possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possessing firearms in connection with a drug-trafficking crime.According to reports, St. Joseph police officers found Edmundson at a gas station following information from the Brown County, Kansas, Sheriff's Department linking him to a shooting incident. The...
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Another Co-founder of Medical Charity in St. Joseph Pleads Guilty to $8 Million Fraud Scheme
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – James L. McGinnis, a co-founder of the Christian health care sharing ministry Medical Cost Sharing in St. Joseph, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to his involvement in an $8 million wire fraud scheme. McGinnis, 77, admitted to his role in cheating hundreds of members and making false statements on a personal tax return. Alongside him, Craig Anthony Reynolds, another co-founder, had previously pleaded guilty to the same charges in November 2023.McGinnis and Reynolds were found to have used deceptive tactics to market Medical Cost Sharing as a "Health Care...
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KCK Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Meth Trafficking, Illegal Firearm
A Kansas City, Kan., man, Joshua L. Alley, has been sentenced to twenty-one years in federal prison without parole for possessing methamphetamine to distribute and illegally possessing a firearm. U.S. District Judge Greg Kays handed down the sentence after Alley pleaded guilty to the charges last year.According to court documents, Independence, Mo., police officers spotted Alley in a stolen vehicle at a local convenience store. Despite attempts to stop him, Alley led officers on a high-speed chase, eventually crashing the vehicle into a creek. Alley then attempted to flee...
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Mississippi Man Sentenced for Luring Columbia Teen for Illicit Sex
A Bay Springs, Mississippi, man, Zachary Wes Buckley, has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison without parole for luring a 16-year-old victim in Columbia, Mo., to meet him at a hotel for illicit sexual activity. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes.Buckley admitted to the crime, stating that he traveled to Columbia and engaged in sexual activity with the child victim at a local hotel. The communication between Buckley and the victim started in an online chat room and escalated to GoogleChat, involving sexually explicit...
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Former Jail Corrections Officer, Wife Sentenced for Producing Child Pornography
Former corrections officer Paul Emerson Schofield and his wife Sara Ellen Schofield of Jefferson City have been sentenced to federal prison for producing child pornography, specifically recording their sexual assault of a 4-year-old victim. Paul Schofield was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison without parole, while Sara Schofield received a 35-year sentence in federal prison without parole.The couple pleaded guilty to charges related to producing child pornography over a nearly three-year period from July 29, 2019, to June 7, 2022. The investigation into their...
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Chamois Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Producing Child Pornography
Dylan Joseph Minor, 27, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole, as stated by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. Minor's conviction stems from his guilty plea to producing child pornography on July 20, 2023.According to sources, a detective from the Franklin County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Oct. 14, 2022, leading to the identification of Minor as a suspect who had shared images and videos of suspected child pornography on the Kik application. Following a search warrant...
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Independence Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
Jonathan P. Henik, a 44-year-old man from Independence, Missouri, has pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple charges related to drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession. According to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner, Henik admitted to two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms, as well as various drug-related offenses including methamphetamine, THC, marijuana, and cocaine distribution, and possession of an unregistered firearm.The case against Henik began when Independence police officers tried to conduct a traffic stop on him while he was...
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Mexican National Indicted for Heroin Trafficking and Illegal Firearm Possession
A Kansas City, Kansas man, identified as Luis Ponce-Lopez, has been indicted by a federal grand jury after authorities discovered nearly six kilograms of suspected heroin in his possession. Ponce-Lopez, a Mexican citizen, was charged in a two-count indictment filed in Kansas City, Missouri on April 2, following an incident that occurred on March 24.According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, witnesses observed Ponce-Lopez dumping a black trash bag in a field after being involved in a traffic accident. The discarded bag was found to...
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Mexican National Sentenced to 20 Years After Officers Seize 144 Pounds of Meth Hidden in Car Tires
A Kansas City, Mo., man, Jorge A. Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 42, a citizen of Mexico, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole after law enforcement officers seized 144 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside automobile wheels in his shed. U.S. District Judge Greg Kays delivered the sentence after Rodriguez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.According to a confidential source, Rodriguez-Gonzalez was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine. A search warrant executed at his residence on Oct. 11, 2019, led to the...