Federal agents are still looking for a few of the 27 defendants indicted by a federal grand jury for alleged involvement in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute drugs and promote prostitution in the Boone County area, according to Don Ledford, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Missouri.
One more defendant - Ronnie Lee Gillette of Kingdom City - has been arrested since U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Tammy Dickinson first announced the indictment at a press conference last month.
Ledford told the Fulton Sun that federal agents are still looking for Ryan Kee, Devon Hopkin, Travis Dennis, and Marlin Smith. Arrest warrants have been issued for them.
The grand jury in Jefferson City returned the 56-count indictment to Dickinson's office under seal on Nov. 5. The indictment was made public Thursday, Nov. 13 and includes drug trafficking and prostitution conspiracy charges as well as 50 drug trafficking-related offenses for various defendants.
The federal indictment alleges that 26 of the 27 defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine in Boone County January through August.
Fulton resident Kenneth Scott Sr., 46, and Malcolm Desean Redmon, 31, of Columbia are the top two charged in the indictment . The indictment further charges defendants Redmon, Ryan D. Wright and Courtnie Lea Goins with knowingly conspiring to use a facility to promote, manage, establish and facilitate unlawful activity related to prostitution.
Gillette was arrested on Nov. 17 and is being held without bond until his trial.