Eleven Defendants Indicted for Meth Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 11 defendants have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute at least 10 kilograms of methamphetamine worth nearly $500,000.

Mike Kamal Ahmad, also known as “Viper Mike,” 39, Carey Michael Vannostran, 39, and Patrick Thomas Baker, 50, all of Kansas City, Mo.; Lori L. Justus, 51, Nicole Marie Bartram, 35, and Jono Dean Hamlin, 43, all of St. Joseph, Mo.; Scott Dewain Yount, 42, of Maryville, Mo.; Joseph Michael Tooley, 32, of Fordland, Mo.; and Matthew Lee Gusman, 31, Mike Andrews Lawson, Jr., 25, and Kayla Caroline Cornelison, 22, all of Red Oak, Iowa, were charged in an indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury on April 15, 2015. That indictment was unsealed and made public following the arrests and initial court appearances of the defendants.

The federal indictment alleges that all of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Jan. 1, 2010, to April 15, 2015.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government $494,200, which allegedly was received in exchange for the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine, based on a conservative average street price of $1,400 per ounce and the total conspiracy distribution of at least 10 kilograms. Ahmad would be required to forfeit to the government a 2001 Dodge Viper and a 2003 Hummer H2, both of which allegedly were used to facilitate the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment 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.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.