KC Man Sentenced to 23 Years for Drug Trafficking, Illegal Firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for drug-trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm.

Robert L. White, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 23 years in federal prison without parole. White was sentenced to 20 years for the federal convictions in this case, plus three consecutive years for violating the terms of his supervised release on a previous offense.

On April 6, 2018, White was found guilty at trial of nine counts of distributing crack cocaine, three counts of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On two occasions in 2013, White was arrested in a traffic stop and officers found crack cocaine in his vehicle. On nine occasions in 2016, White distributed crack cocaine to sources who were cooperating with a law enforcement investigation.

On June 6, 2016, White was arrested after Kansas City police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop. White fled in his vehicle, then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, but was found and arrested. When officers searched his vehicle they found a clear plastic baggie that contained 22 individually-wrapped baggies totaling 58.5 grams of crack cocaine.

Officers executed  a search warrant at White’s residence on the same day and seized $5,000, cocaine, and a loaded Kel Tec 9mm handgun.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. White has three prior felony convictions for possession of controlled substances and prior felony convictions for theft, conspiracy to possess cocaine and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Q. McCarther and Bradley K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.