Cincinnati man sentenced to 27 years in prison for role in narcotics, firearms conspiracies

CINCINNATI – The leader of a drug trafficking organization was sentenced in federal court here to 324 months in prison. He is one of 16 individuals convicted in a narcotics and firearms conspiracies case. 

Ryan Haskamp, 36, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

A federal grand jury indicted all 16 defendants in July 2021, charging the defendants in a firearms conspiracy and in a narcotics conspiracy involving 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and cocaine and 10 grams or more of LSD, as well as detectable amounts of MDMA, DMT, marijuana and ketamine.

In total, as part of this case, law enforcement seized 11 firearms and more than one kilogram of methamphetamine, more than 200 pounds of DMT, more than five kilograms of marijuana, more than 15 kilograms of hashish and hashish oil, more than one kilogram of MDMA, more than 19,000 dose units of LSD, fentanyl, cocaine, and other synthetic and counterfeit drugs.

The case originated with two individuals involved in an Aug. 7, 2020, police chase through Cincinnati that resulted in the deaths of two bystanders in Newport, Kentucky. Mason Meyer, 32, and Kirsten Johnson, 26, both of Cincinnati, were charged federally in August 2020. Ongoing investigation led to the additional 14 defendants and charges.

According to court documents, officials with the ATF, Cincinnati Police and the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force were surveilling Meyer in Cincinnati on Aug. 7, 2020, when Meyer drove away. Cincinnati Police officers attempted to stop Meyer when he fled, causing a police chase through Cincinnati and into Covington and Newport, Kentucky.

Local court documents detail that Meyer’s vehicle struck and killed a couple dining on the patio of Press on Monmouth in Newport, Kentucky. Two other pedestrians were struck and suffered minor injuries.

At the time of the chase, Meyer and Johnson possessed 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, two loaded handguns and a loaded rifle.

Additional investigation tied Meyer and Johnson to Haskamp’s drug trafficking organization. Haskamp was Meyer’s source of supply of methamphetamine. Haskamp used at least five Cincinnati residences as stash houses to store and sell drugs. He also had others rent Airbnb locations and hotel rooms to further his drug trafficking. Haskamp had packages of drugs delivered to the Airbnb rental properties. Haskamp supplied drugs for redistribution in Cincinnati and Dayton via numerous co-defendants.

Others convicted in this case include:

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge and agencies with the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force and Drug Abuse Reduction Task Force (DART) announced the sentence imposed on Feb. 6 by U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley N. Brucato is representing the United States in this case.

# # #