Authorities arrested 17 people Thursday who are among 27 defendants indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly participating in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute drugs and promote prostitution in the Boone County area, said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Tammy Dickinson at a press conference.
The U.S. Marshall Service is holding the 24 in custody - seven of which were already in custody on prior charges. Law enforcement officers were working on locating the other three not in custody Thursday afternoon.
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 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.
The indictment alleges, Dickenson said, that Redmon started a separate prostitution business alongside his drug-trafficking business.
"He wanted to diversify his operations. Co-defendant Ryan Wright of Springfield, Missouri conducted a prostitution business and he wanted to diversify into the drug business. Those two shared their expertise," Dickinson said Thursday.
According to the indictment, Redmon allegedly supplied Goins with a room with the purpose of using the space to work as a prostitute. He also allegedly gave her protection and cocaine when she was working for him.
A press release from Dickinson's office stated that these three defendants used phones to communicate about the business - assignments, customers, payment etc. - and to recruit additional prostitutes.
Dickinson said gang activities started the 18-month investigation. Multiple law enforcement agencies at the state, federal and local levels assisted in the investigation. Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey said the agencies had a collaborative approach to the investigation.
"Not one agency can do this by themselves," Carey said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Athony P. Gonzalez is prosecuting the case. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; IRS-Criminal Investigation; Columbia Police Department; Boone County Sheriff's Department, MUSTANG (Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and Narcotics Group) Task Force and U.S. Marshalls Service.
A little more than a year ago, a task force formed to formally bring the state, federal and local agencies together.
"This federal indictment dismantled a major drug-trafficking organization in Columbia. Today's operation not only disrupts that organization in the flow of cocaine and crack cocaine into the Columbia area, but reduces the level of violence," Dickinson said Thursday afternoon.
The indictment charges multiple defendants in 24 counts of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and five counts of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute. It also includes two counts of maintaining a space - at two Columbia locations - to unlawfully store cocaine and crack cocaine and 19 counts of using a telephone to facilitate the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Christin Sledd, a former Boone County Clerk's Office employee, is charged with leaking information of the investigation to targets of the investigation, according to court documents. As part of her job, Sledd had access to sensitive information.
The information she allegedly leaked includes details of at least one search warrant. Sledd allegedly passed on information about a search warrant that was about to be served, telling defendant Ryan Montez Kee, the father of her child, about the impending search warrant. He then passed on the information to others.
Dickinson said that if authorities had not learned of the leak, law enforcement officers and other could have been injured or killed when they completed the search warrant.
Dickinson said Christy Blakemore, Circuit Clerk for Boone County Judicial Circuit 13, helped identify the leak.
"The clerk, Christy Blakemore, cooperated fully with the authorities in this investigation to identify the lone employee who was involved in leaking this information," Dickinson said Thursday. "And immediately put in controls to ensure that this wouldn't happen again."
The leak was detected and search warrants were safely carried out, Dickinson said.
The indictment also includes firearms offenses. Authorities located firearms on several of the defendants and seized them. Kenneth Scott of Fulton and Marcus Dion Jordan are both charged with being felons in possession of firearms. Scott's prior felony convictions were delivery of a controlled substance, drug trafficking and possessing a controlled substance in a correctional facility. This federal indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Scott in August. Scott has been in federal custody since his arrest on Aug. 5.
Due to this indictment, Dickinson said Columbia's neighborhoods will be safer.
"I think when you take 27 violent criminals off the street in one day, you've definitely made an impact in the community," Dickinson said Thursday. "Hopefully it will have the deterrent effect that we believe it does."
In addition to Scott, the following Callaway County residents were also arrested:
•Dion Antonio Vaughn, 38, of Fulton
•James Thomas Pittman, 41, of Fulton
•Ronnie Lee Gillette, 53, of Kingdom City
Of the 27 defendants, authorities will seek to keep nine in federal custody without bond.
Indictment documents from Office of the U.S. Attorney Wester District of Missouri