Coty D. Hollaman Pleads Guilty to Pot Smuggling Ring

Coty D. Hollaman, 23, formerly of Kansas City, Mo., copped to his role in a cross-state marijuana trafficking ring that flooded the city with over 120 pounds of pot between May and September 2016. Hollaman pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, bypassing a grand jury by entering a plea to a federal information.

The operation ran like a cartel cell on a budget — starting small with two- to three-pound loads hauled from Colorado, then scaling up fast. With a $10,000 infusion from a silent investor, Hollaman and associates ramped their operations, buying bulk weed and transporting it back to Missouri for street-level distribution. The investor didn’t want cash alone — he demanded $1,000 weekly in interest, plus free marijuana, until the full $10,000 was repaid.

Hollaman personally transported 20 pounds of marijuana on each of his final two trips — a bold move that put him squarely in federal crosshairs. Prosecutors say the entire conspiracy moved at least 120 pounds of marijuana from Colorado, exploiting legal loopholes in the western state to fuel illicit sales in Missouri’s underground market.

The bust was the result of a multi-agency dragnet involving the Independence Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Benton County Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the FBI. Wiretaps, surveillance, and informant testimony helped dismantle the network before it could expand further.

Now facing the full weight of federal law, Hollaman is subject to up to five years in prison without parole. While the statutory maximum is set by Congress, the final sentence will be determined by the court, guided by federal sentencing guidelines and findings from a pending presentence investigation conducted by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. No sentencing date has been set, but when it comes, Hollaman will have to answer not just for the drugs he moved, but for the damage such operations leave in urban neighborhoods — addiction, violence, and eroded trust. This isn’t just a drug case. It’s a symptom of a deeper sickness.