Meth & Heroin Ring Lands Liberty, Excelsior Springs Men in Prison

KANSAS CITY, MO – A multi-year, multi-million dollar drug operation supplying methamphetamine and heroin across northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas has resulted in significant federal prison sentences for 16 co-defendants, including two men sentenced this week. The operation, which raked in an estimated $4,359,600, was finally dismantled after a decade-long investigation initiated in 2010 by the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and the DEA.

Jason Daniel Davis, 44, of Liberty, Mo., received 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Authorities confirmed Davis was responsible for distributing more than 500 grams of the drug. Separately, Jackie R. Love, 60, of Excelsior Springs, Mo., was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison without parole for the same charge, also admitting to distributing over 500 grams of methamphetamine.

The investigation revealed that Jose Luis Ruiz-Salazar, 39, and his brother, Gabriel Ruiz-Salazar, 35, both of Kansas City, Mo., along with Gregory Bullock, 48, also of Kansas City, served as the primary sources for the methamphetamine. These three supplied co-conspirators who then pushed the drugs throughout Jackson, Clay, Ray, Clinton, and Buchanan counties in Missouri. Gabriel Ruiz-Salazar already received a 15-year and eight-month sentence, while Jose Ruiz-Salazar and Bullock are still awaiting their fates in court.

The $4.3 million figure isn’t pulled from thin air. Investigators arrived at that estimate using conservative street values: $1,200 per ounce for 50 percent pure methamphetamine, accounting for at least 100 kilograms distributed, and $2,500 per ounce of heroin, totaling approximately three pounds. This wasn’t a small-time operation; it was a sophisticated network moving serious quantities of dangerous drugs.

Davis and Love aren’t alone in facing federal consequences. Anthony Ray Stevenson, 46, of Excelsior Springs, received a staggering 22 years and six months. Taylor Lee Syas, 25, of Polo, Mo., got eight years and four months. Paula Rae Scott, 48, of Excelsior Springs, was sentenced to four years and eleven months. Others sentenced include Bryan D. Carroll, 29, of Kansas City (6 years, 6 months); Ryan A. Battagler, 39, of Kearney (12 years); Franklin Charles Carter (aka “Frankie”), 28, of Grandview (8 years); Marion Eugene Brammer, 53, of Excelsior Springs (6 years, 3 months); Brian Michael Bowers, 35, of Richmond (12 years, 6 months); Gary Dewayne Brown, 37, of Cowgill (12 years, 7 months); Ronald Louis Roberts, 54, of Lathrop (10 years, 6 months); Brittney James Brehm, 39, of Bland (6 years, 11 months); Rodney Earl King, 52, of Excelsior Springs (5 years, 2 months); and Darin Gene Berry, 52, of Excelsior Springs (4 years, 5 months).

U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Garrison announced these sentences, highlighting the continued commitment of federal authorities to dismantling drug trafficking organizations in the Western District of Missouri. Ten additional co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, including Steven Lee Schreier, Jr., 33, Jason Lee Kirtley, 45, and William Dean Campbell, 37, all of E.

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