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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
June 15 , 2009
CALIFORNIA MAN GETS 9+ YEARS FOR MAKING MONTHLY METH DELIVERIES TO LAWRENCE, KAN.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – John Gilmore, 47, San Bernidino, Calif., has been sentenced to 110 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.
In May 2008, Gilmore pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that for two years ending in February 2007 he transported loads of methamphetamine weighing one to 12 pounds on a monthly basis from San Bernadino, Calif., to Lawrence, Kan.
On Feb. 5, 2007, the Lawrence Police Department received a call from a farm supply store about a man who had purchased five pounds of methylsulfonylmethane or “MSM,” which can be used as a cutting agent. The buyer, who had come to the store by taxi, was identified as Gilmore. He was arrested at the Baymont Inn, where he was staying.
In Gilmore’s room, investigators found methamphetamine and materials used for packaging it for sale. Investigators learned that for two years Gilmore had made monthly trips carrying methamphetamine to Lawrence, and trips back to San Bernadino carrying cash in amounts from $6,000 to $115,000. He concealed the drugs and money on his body or in computer cases when he traveled by Amtrak.
Co-defendants in the case include:
– Jose Lopez, who is set for sentencing July 7.
– Randy Lucero, who is set for sentencing July 14.
Welch commended the Lawrence Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the Shawnee, Kan., Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri McCracken for their work on the case.
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