KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a dozen metro-area men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection to a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
The DOJ claims that the conspiracy led to at least one death and the illegal possession of firearms.
Court records show that the following men were charged in a 35-count indictment on September 11:
- Justin “JD” Rivera, 20, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Yael “Grit” Figueroa, 23, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Jose “El Wey” Lugo Jr., 20, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Aaron “Van Kleefy” Contreras-Jaquez, 24, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Jose Lorenzo-Medina, 24, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Antonio “Tony” Baeza-Brown, 25, of Kansas City, Mo.
- Simon Figueroa, 26, of Mexico, residing in Kansas City, Mo.
- Jonathan Gonzales, 25, of Mexico, residing in Kansas City, Mo.
- Luis “Loc” Calvillo-Ortiz, 19, of Independence, Mo.
- Marcos “Baby Face” Favian Alvarado, 20, of Kansas City, Kan.
- Chad “Gso Yad” Green, 24, of Kansas City, Kan.
- Crencio Carbajal-Loya, 18, of Kansas City, Kan.
The indictment accuses all 12 of the defendants of participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, as well as a conspiracy to use and carry firearms in relation to drug trafficking since December 1, 2022.
These indictments were just made public as several of the defendants were either arrested or appeared in court today, September 13, 2024.
Three residential search warrants were executed today as well. Law enforcement seized nearly 7,000 fentanyl pills, 11 firearms (including a machine gun), five stolen vehicles and more than $75,000 in cash.
Suspect taken into custody after threat, hold at Belton Middle School Rivera is charged with distributing fentanyl that led to the death of a victim identified by the DOJ as “MM” on May 7, 2023. He’s also being charged with eight counts of distributing fentanyl, three counts of using and carrying firearms during a drug trafficking crime and one count of using a machine gun during a drug trafficking crime.
Alvarado is additionally being charged with one count of distributing fentanyl, one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Yael Figueroa is being charged with four counts of distributing fentanyl and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Medina is also being charged with four counts of distributing fentanyl.
Contreras-Jaquez is being charged with two counts of distributing fentanyl and two counts of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
Calvillo-Ortiz, Gonzales and Simon Figueroa are all being charged with one count of distributing fentanyl.
These charges are in addition to the previously mentioned drug trafficking and firearm conspiracies and are accusations, not evidence of guilt. Evidence must be provided to a federal grand jury, who will determine the guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey McCarther. It was investigated by the DEA, ATF, the Belton Police Department, the Kansas City Kansas Police Department, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
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