Press Release
Jury Convicts Colorado Man of Heroin Trafficking, Illegal Firearm
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri
Faces at Least 15 Years in Prison
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Aurora, Colorado, man has been convicted by a federal trial jury of heroin trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm while traveling through Kansas City, Mo., on a bus bound for Virginia.
Izeall T. Collins, 43, was found guilty on Wednesday, June 15, of one count of possessing a kilogram or more of heroin with the intent to distribute, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
According to evidence introduced during the trial, law enforcement officers contacted Collins at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station on March 4, 2019, during a layover while Collins was traveling from Denver, Colo., to Norfolk, Va. Collins had been acting suspiciously, and admitted to officers that he had some marijuana in his possession. Officers searched Collins and found a large, hard, brick-shaped object in Collins’s pants.
Officers found 1.05 kilograms of heroin, which was packaged in a rectangular bag wrapped in silver duct tape, concealed in the waistband of his underwear. Officers also found a round of 9mm ammunition in his pocket.
Officers retrieved Collins’s backpack and soft-sided cooler from the bus and obtained a search warrant for them. Investigators later found a loaded Keltec 9mm semi-automatic handgun in he soft-sided cooler.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for approximately 30 minutes before returning guilty verdicts on both counts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Tuesday, June 14.
Under federal statutes, Collins is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. 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 Robert Smith and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Bradshaw. It was investigated by the MOWIN (Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics) Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Updated June 21, 2022
Topics
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Offenses
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