Seven Indicted in Kansas City Murders, Drug Ring

Two cold-blooded murders. A drug-trafficking ring stretched across state lines. And a conspiracy to bury the truth with blood and lies. Seven defendants are now facing federal charges in Kansas City, Mo., tied to the 2015 killings of Danny Lamont Dean and Anthony Dwayne Johnson — both executed during violent drug robberies.

Shawn Burkhalter, 29, and Joshua Nesbitt, 23, are charged with using a Rock River Arms AR-15 5.56-caliber semi-automatic rifle to murder Danny Lamont Dean on Sept. 10, 2015, during a cocaine robbery. The same weapon was allegedly used weeks later when Nesbitt shot Anthony Dwayne Johnson on Oct. 4, 2015, as part of a marijuana heist. Burkhalter and Nesbitt face multiple capital counts, including murdering a potential witness to prevent cooperation with law enforcement.

They weren’t alone. Joslyn Lee, 26, of Blue Springs, Mo., is charged as an accessory after the fact for aiding Burkhalter and Nesbitt post-murder. Sharika Hooker, 29, of Kansas City, Mo., allegedly gave Nesbitt sanctuary and money to evade capture. Nickayla Jones, 22, Autry Hines, 26, and Rachel Ryce, 30, also face accessory charges for helping hide evidence — including stashing the murder weapon at a residence.

The indictment, a 14-count beast unsealed Feb. 21, 2018, also charges Burkhalter, Nesbitt, Lee, Jones, Hines, and Ryce with participating in a drug-trafficking conspiracy from 2008 to Feb. 20, 2018. The crew allegedly distributed both cocaine and marijuana for nearly a decade. On the day Dean was killed, Burkhalter and Nesbitt are also charged with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

Violence wasn’t just a byproduct — it was the method. Burkhalter and Nesbitt face firearm discharge charges tied directly to the drug conspiracy, including during the Oct. 4 robbery of marijuana they intended to sell. Days before Dean’s murder, on Sept. 8, 2015, the pair allegedly robbed a Kansas City business at gunpoint, brandishing the same AR-15 rifle used in both killings.

While Lee and Hooker were arrested ahead of the indictment’s unsealing, the rest — Burkhalter, Nesbitt, Jones, Hines, and Ryce — were already locked up on related state charges. Now, they all face the full fury of federal justice, with capital counts hanging over several. The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, exposes a brutal underworld where drugs, murder, and silence were currency.

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