NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov../index.html

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JURY CONVICTS RAYTOWN MAN OF CRACK COCAINE,

ILLEGAL FIREARM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Raytown, Mo., man was convicted by a federal jury today of distributing crack cocaine and illegally possessing a firearm.

Theodore Tiger, also known as “Abdullah,” 40, of Raytown, was found guilty of all four counts contained in a May 8, 2008, federal indictment.

Tiger was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to distribute more than five grams of crack cocaine from Dec. 1, 2007, to Jan. 31, 2008. Tiger was also found guilty of two counts related to distributing crack cocaine and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. Tiger was in possession of an RG23 .22-caliber revolver and a Taurus .357-caliber Magnum revolver on Jan. 31, 2008.

Evidence produced during the trial indicated that Tiger sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant on three separate occasions. Tiger arranged a fourth drug transaction, and was arrested by law enforcement officers at the scene of the transaction. Police officers discovered the firearms when they executed a search warrant at Tiger’s apartment.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Tiger has prior state convictions for stealing a motor vehicle, stealing and unlawful use of a weapon and conspiracy to sell cocaine, as well as a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City deliberated about 30 minutes before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 22, 2010.

Under federal statutes, Tiger is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, on each of the drug trafficking charges, and up to 10 years in federal prison without parole for the firearm violation. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Mahoney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Davids. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Raytown, Mo., Police Department.

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