On July 25, a Kansas City man was convicted by a federal jury for his role in a marijuana-growing operation in Daviess County, according to John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
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Jhanmay Molina-Perez, 29, of Kansas City, was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy to manufacture marijuana from May 1 to Oct. 31, 2006, and of managing and renting the 22-acre property that was used for growing the marijuana.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City deliberated about four hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner, ending a trial that began July 21, 2008.
The marijuana-growing operation was discovered when Daviess County Sheriff Kevin Heldenbrand responded to a 9-1-1 call on Sept. 6, 2006 from the Doug Roberts residence. They said they’d heard gunshots at a neighbor’s house. The sheriff arrived at the scene located east of Coffey on Hwy. UU about a mile south of B Highway to discover the bodies of two men who had been fatally shot.
Witnesses reported seeing as many as five or six men fleeing the scene in vehicles and possibly two men who fled the scene on foot. A manhunt for the men included multiple area sheriffs’ departments and the Missouri Highway Patrol, using dog teams, helicopters, an airplane and ATVs.
Law officers found the large marijuana operation inside a corn field behind the residence. The sheriff described the marijuana field as the largest he had seen thus far in his time in office. There were some 3,000 marijuana plants, ranging from 6 to 12 feet tall.
A stash of shotguns and automatic weapons found inside the house and numerous tracks around the grounds led officers to drain two ponds "in order to leave nothing unturned."
Some 200 officers helped with the manhunt Wednesday and on Thursday about 70 officers remained on hand including members of the ATF.
The two slain men were identified as Pedro M. Coralez, 38, of Hialeah, Fla., and Arnaldo Valdez, 39, of Miami. Authorities have yet to charge a suspect in the double homicide.
"I’m comfortable saying that federal or state murder charges will be filed," said Sheriff Heldenbrand.
Under federal statutes, Molina-Perez could be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to life in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $4.5 million for his role in a marijuana-growing operation . A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregg R. Coonrod and Patrick D. Daley. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Metro Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department, the Cameron Police Department, the St. Joseph Police Department, NITRO (the Northwest Missouri Interagency Team Response Operation), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Kansas City Police Department, with assistance from the Daviess County Prosecutor’s Office.