Kansas City Woman Sentenced for Drug Trafficking Conspiracy and Involvement in 2021 Homicide

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo. woman was sentenced in federal court for her role in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and using a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.

Idella Gardner, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Kays to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

On Oct. 9, 2024, Gardner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug trafficking crime.

Between January 2019 and July 2022, Gardner was an armed drug dealer who actively participated in the purchase and distribution of cocaine. The investigation established that Gardner aided members of a street gang and other members of the conspiracy on at last forty occasions where she took part in coordinating drug transactions. When law enforcement officers arrested Gardner on Mar. 9, 2022, she was found in possession of cocaine, cell phones, firearm magazines, and live ammunition.  The investigation relied on court-authorized wire intercepts of co-defendant’s telephones, physical surveillance, interviews, and text message evidence documenting the defendant’s involvement in drug trafficking.

At the sentencing hearing, the Government also presented evidence regarding Gardner’s involvement in a 2021 homicide.  The evidence established that on Apr. 22, 2021, Gardner discharged a firearm into an occupied apartment near the intersection of Lockridge Avenue and Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, intending to target another individual.

As a result of the shooting, an innocent female victim, identified as A.O. in court documents, was struck in the head while lying in bed inside of her apartment.  When A.O. failed to show up for work, a concerned colleague went to A.O.’s apartment and contacted law enforcement after observing A.O. unresponsive through a bedroom window.  At the time she was located, A.O. was barely breathing.  She was transported to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries two days later.

The Court found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Gardner was responsible for the fatal shooting.  Considering this finding and the defendant’s role in the drug conspiracy, the Court imposed a substantial upward variance from the advisory sentencing guideline range.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Moeder.  It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.