A Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm.
Robert J. Thomas Jr., 38, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Thursday, Aug. 27, to 20 years in federal prison without parole.
On Nov. 20, 2019, Thomas pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Kansas City police officers contacted Thomas on Dec. 1, 2017, during an investigation of a pedestrian hit-and-run earlier that day by a Chevrolet pickup truck after his address was identified through the license plates of the truck. Thomas confirmed that he owned the truck and was taken into custody.
On Dec. 4, 2019, officers searched Thomas’s vehicle, which was in the impound lot. They found a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber pistol and a black Nike backpack that contained a total of 684 grams of marijuana, a Ziploc plastic baggie that contained various colors of pills, and two small clear plastic baggies that contained a total of 19 grams of cocaine. A warrant was issued for Thomas’s arrest.
A Kansas City police officer saw a silver 2007 Chevrolet Impala with expired tags on Feb. 22, 2018, and conducted a traffic stop. The vehicle came to a stop along with a second vehicle, a 2006 green Ford Mustang driven by Thomas, which was in front of the Impala. Thomas got out of his vehicle, ignoring the officer’s directions, and stated that his 15-year-old daughter was driving the Impala. Thomas got back into the Mustang and both vehicles began traveling, with the officer following until they pulled into a driveway. The officer detained Thomas and his daughter.
The officer searched the Impala and found several clear baggies that contained a total of 354 grams of marijuana, 22 individually-wrapped clear baggies that contained seven grams of cocaine, and three baggies that contained unknown white and green pill/powdery substance.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
