KCK Man Sentenced for Heroin Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Kansas, man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a heroin trafficking conspiracy.

Solomon B. Hawthorne, 31, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 12 years and one month in federal prison without parole. Today’s sentence includes a term of two years for violating his federal supervised release in another, unrelated case.

On Aug. 12, 2021, Hawthorne pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to possess heroin with the intent to distribute.

A detective with the Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics (MoWin) Task Force located a suspicious box at a Kansas City, Missouri, FedEx facility on Nov. 20, 2020. The parcel had been shipped from California and contained a black metal safe. Inside the safe were three heat-sealed bundles that contained a total of 3,000.32 grams of heroin.

Law enforcement officers conducted a controlled delivery of the parcel to a Kansas City, Mo., residence later the same day. An officer acting in an undercover capacity posed as a FedEx delivery driver and left the parcel on the porch steps. Officers conducted surveillance until Hawthorne arrived, driving a 2016 Dodge Ram truck. Hawthorne and another man drove past the residence and around the block before pulling into the driveway. Both men were arrested.

Officers searched Hawthorne’s truck and found a clear storage bag in the center console that contained approximately 127.31 grams of heroin. A black bag that contained $48,680 was found in the front passenger floorboard. The black bag also contained a Glock 9mm magazine with ammunition; another Glock 9mm magazine with ammunition was found in a hidden compartment in the center console. Drug paraphernalia was found in the back seat of the cab.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Morgan. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.