Robert J. Keegan, Methamphetamine Trafficking, MO 2023

Harrisonville man Robert J. Keegan, 27, is going away for 18 years without parole after being sentenced in federal court for his role in a sweeping methamphetamine trafficking ring that stretched from Cameron to Kansas City, Mo. U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips handed down the sentence today, marking the latest fallout from a violent, high-volume drug operation dismantled by federal agents.

Keegan pleaded guilty on Dec. 28, 2018, to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The charges stem from a five-month spree of distribution between January and May 24, 2017, during which Keegan and four co-defendants moved kilos of meth across northwest Missouri.

On May 12, 2017, Keegan was pulled over by law enforcement and found in possession of a Hi-point .40-caliber handgun and a duffel bag containing approximately 3.8 kilograms of methamphetamine—enough to supply hundreds of street-level deals. The haul signaled a major player in the ring, prosecutors said, and triggered a chain of arrests that unraveled the entire network.

Co-defendants Benjamin W. Clark, 27, Jalie J. Brinlee, 29, and Felicia C. Ward, 23, all of Cameron, along with Frank E. Hundley, 34, of Kansas City, Mo., have all pleaded guilty. Clark and Brinlee admitted to buying bulk meth from multiple suppliers and distributing it across Cameron and Kansas City. Brinlee also admitted to possessing a Glock 9mm handgun, which he transferred to Ward before her traffic stop on May 24, 2017.

During that stop, Missouri State Highway Patrol found Ward carrying the Glock 9mm in her purse along with approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine—another stash tied directly to Brinlee. Ward now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years without parole, with the possibility of life under federal sentencing guidelines. Hundley faces the same.

Under their plea agreements, Clark and Brinlee are each set for 18-year sentences without parole, pending court approval. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Edwards and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Belton and Independence Police Departments, and the Jackson County Drug Task Force—a multi-agency push that choked off a major supply line in the region’s underground drug economy.