Ten Columbia Residents, One Kansas City Man Charged in Cocaine Conspiracy
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 16, 2012 |
JEFFERSON CITY—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 10 Columbia, Missouri residents and a Kansas City, Missouri man have been charged in federal court with participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Boone County, Missouri and elsewhere.
Samuel Raphael Johnson, 34, of Kansas City; and Levi McLean Franklin Coolley, 33; Jonathan Richard Gray, 33; Patrick Jeremy O’Blennis, 32; Russell Preston Browns, 30; George Dale Wolchko, 30; Eric Paxton Pyle, 33; Travis Keith Rudloff, 35; and Sara Jean Patrick Browns, 25, all of Columbia, were charged in a five-count indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City on February 16, 2012. The indictment was unsealed today following the arrests and initial court appearances of several defendants.
The federal indictment alleges that all of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Boone County and elsewhere from July 2008 to February 15, 2012.
In a separate but related case, Yun Yi Chang, 33, and Jessica Lynn Jobe, 29, both of Columbia, were charged in a federal criminal complaint that was filed under seal on Thursday, March 15, 2012 in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City. The complaint, which was unsealed today, alleges that Chang and Jobe participated in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Boone County from December 2011 to March 14, 2012.
In addition to the cocaine-trafficking conspiracy, Johnson, Coolley, Russell Browns, and Pyle are charged together in the indictment with one count of participating in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Boone County and elsewhere from July 2011 to February 15, 2012.
Johnson is also charged with one count of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute in Jackson County, Missouri and with one count of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute in Jackson County.
Johnson is also charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition. According to the indictment, Johnson was in possession of 50 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition and 38 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition on November 8, 2011. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Johnson has prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon and drug trafficking.
Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in the indictment and complaint are simply accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven R. Berry. They were investigated by the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the Columbia, Missouri Police Department; the Boone County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department; and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.