Heroin Conspiracy Rocks St. Joseph

A St. Joseph, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and for illegally possessing firearms.

Franklin T. Hicks Jr., also known as ‘Frankie,’ 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 10 years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On May 31, 2022, Hicks pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin in the St. Joseph area from Sept. 1, 2019, to March 26, 2021, and to two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Hicks is directly responsible for distributing at least 115.5 grams of heroin, which is over 1,150 potentially lethal, 0.1-gram ‘doses’ of the drug, and was involved in a conspiracy that moved kilograms of heroin.

Hicks was arrested outside of a hotel in St. Joseph on Jan. 22, 2021. He was in possession of 35.8 grams of heroin and $2,687 in cash. Officers also found a loaded Rock Island Armory .380-caliber handgun under the driver’s seat of his car and a Ruger 9mm handgun in the glovebox.

Hicks is the third and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. Co-defendants Roderick A. Hughes and Harvey E. Johnson have also received lengthy prison sentences for their roles in the heroin-trafficking conspiracy.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Defendant: Franklin T. Hicks Jr., Conspiracy to Distribute One Kilogram or More of Heroin, Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking Crime, St. Joseph, MO, May 31, 2022, 10 years and 6 months in federal prison without parole, $2,687 in cash

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