A Kansas City, Kansas, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after police officers found almost six kilograms of suspected heroin in a trash bag he discarded following a traffic accident.
Luis Ponce-Lopez, 26, a citizen of Mexico, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, April 2. The indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Ponce-Lopez on March 26, 2024.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Ponce-Lopez was driving a black 2013 Ford F350 pickup truck when he was involved in a traffic accident on March 24, 2024. Witnesses told police officers they saw Ponce-Lopez get out of his truck after the collision, carry a black trash bag, dump it in a nearby field, and return to his truck. Officers found the trash bag, which contained several packages wrapped in black paper, a silver thermos, and two clear tubs. Four of the containers were tested and found to contain a total of nearly three kilograms of heroin. The total amount of suspected heroin in all of the containers weighed more than 5.7 kilograms.
Officers searched the pickup truck following Ponce-Lopez’s arrest and found a Dan Wesson 10mm semi-automatic handgun.
The federal indictment charges Ponce-Lopez with one count of possessing heroin with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon E. Gibson. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force.
