Drug Trafficking Boss in Kansas City, Kansas Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison

KANSAS CITY, KS—The leader of a drug trafficking ring that tried to take over the neighborhood around 20th and Longwood in Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison, said U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

Antonio D. Quinn, 32, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. In his plea, he admitted he was the leader of a drug trafficking organization targeted by local and federal law enforcement agencies in an investigation named Operation Camera Shy. Quinn owned houses in the area around 20th and Longwood that he and other conspirators used for distributing crack cocaine. Other conspirators paid him in money or drugs for using his houses.

In his plea, Quinn agreed to the forfeit his claims to property including 2648 N. 21st, 2636 N. 20th, 2635 N. 20th, 2632 N. 20th, 2111 N. 49th, 2016 N. 27th and 619 N. Garfield in Kansas City, Kan. He also agreed to a money judgment against him of more than $4.2 million.

Also sentenced Monday were:

■Lavaughn J. Brown, 32, Kansas City, Kan., who was sentenced to 262 months and a forfeiture money judgment of more than $4.2 million.

■Steven L. Quinn, 35, Kansas City, Kan., who was sentenced to 240 months and a forfeiture money judgment of more than $4.2 million.

■Rocquel Jones-Quinn, 38, Kansas City, Kan., who was sentenced to 84 months and a $50,000 money judgment.

■Juan D. Lopez, 32, Kansas City, Mo., who was sentenced to five years probation including two years home confinement.

■Dale E. Talley, 55, Shawnee, Kan., who was sentenced to four years probation including six months home confinement, a $15,000 money judgment and a $10,000 fine.

■Ruth A. Alvarado-Lopez, 26, Kansas City, Mo., who was sentenced to two years probation.

Investigators used undercover buyers and electronic surveillance to shadow the traffickers. Evidence showed the traffickers were watching the police, too. In Dale Talley’s plea, he admitted police intercepted phone calls in which he warned his fellow traffickers about a blue van “full of police” he spotted in the neighborhood. In another instance, Talley called to warn Antonio Quinn that Quinn was being followed by a gray car. The car was being used by police for surveillance. In another instance, Talley called Antonio Quinn to warn him that a police tactical team was closing in on him. “Shut everything down in the hood,” Talley was recorded saying.

Grissom commended the following agencies for their work on the case: The FBI; the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department; the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department; the Lee’s Summit Police Department; the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department; the Leavenworth Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt.