KC Man Sentenced for Meth Trafficking, Illegal Firearms
Sold Meth and Assault Rifle to Undercover ATF Agent
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man who sold an assault rifle and methamphetamine to an undercover federal agent has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing firearms.
Jacob Michael Richardson, 34, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Tuesday, March 29, to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On Nov. 15, 2021, Richardson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Richardson admitted that he met an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Aug. 10, 2020, to sell the agent methamphetamine and a firearm. When Richardson arrived at a local park on his four-wheeler, the agent saw him set his motorcycle helmet on the ground. A pistol was sitting inside the helmet. Richardson told the undercover agent he was a member of the United Aryan Brotherhood and had just gotten out of prison.
Richardson showed the undercover agent a photo of a firearm that appeared to be an assault rifle on his cell phone. A white Dodge Avenger driven by co-defendant Brian Michael French, 31, of Kansas City, Mo., then arrived to deliver the firearm, an AR-type privately made .223-caliber rifle with no serial number. However, when the undercover agent examined the rifle, it didn’t function. Richardson explained the firing pin was at his house, so they went to Richardson’s house. Richardson retrieved the firing pin and, as he and the undercover agent reassembled the firearm, French watched from a distance.
The undercover agent asked Richardson if he had another firearm for sale, and Richardson showed him a Springfield .40-caliber pistol. Richardson told the undercover agent he could also sell him PCP, cocaine, ecstasy, or marijuana. The agent paid Richardson $2,400 for the rifle with 29 rounds of ammunition and 22 grams of methamphetamine.
On Aug. 21, 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Richardson’s residence. Officers found a Remington .22-caliber rifle and a Charles Daley 12-gauge shotgun in the bedroom. Also in the bedroom was a safe, which contained a Springfield .40-caliber pistol and approximately 296 grams of methamphetamine. Officers also found a pineapple-style grenade, five marijuana plants, various rounds of ammunition, and body armor.
Richardson told investigators he brokered approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine over the past year.
French pleaded guilty on Dec. 21, 2021, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and awaits sentencing.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefan C. Hughes. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
