Kansas Man Gets 36.5 Years in Federal Drug Case

KANSAS CITY, KS—A Kansas City, Kan., man who was part of a drug trafficking ring that tried to take over the neighborhood around 20th Street and Longwood Avenue has been sentenced to 36.5 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Mark A. Brooks, 34, Kansas City, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 280 grams of crack cocaine; one count of conspiracy to maintain a residence at 2632 N. 20th Street in furtherance of drug trafficking; and one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of Northwest Middle School.

Brooks was one of 17 defendants indicted as a result of Operation Camera Shy. The indictment alleged the traffickers distributed more than $4 million worth of cocaine and crack on Kansas City streets. During the operation, investigators used undercover buyers and electronic surveillance to shadow the traffickers.

Grissom commended the following agencies for their work on the case: The FBI; the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department; the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department; the Lee’s Summit Police Department; the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department; the Leavenworth Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt.