Michael Ryan Nevatt, $1M Meth Conspiracy, Missouri 2018

Grimy Times

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Springfield man has been convicted of his role in a $1 million methamphetamine conspiracy in southern Missouri and the Kansas City area.

Michael Ryan Nevatt, 28, of Springfield, was found guilty of all seven counts in a federal indictment, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and money laundering.

The evidence presented during the trial showed that Nevatt participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from January 1, 2014, to November 17, 2016. Co-defendant Kenneth Lake, 56, of Strafford, Mo., was the original head of the organization, coordinating vehicle transport shipments of methamphetamine from a Mexican cartel source in Texas to Springfield.

Nevatt subsequently took over as the head of the organization and made regular trips to pick up multiple-pound supplies of methamphetamine. He was stopped by Springfield police officers on one occasion while operating a motorcycle without a valid motorcycle endorsement or insurance, and $66,960 in cash was seized from the saddle bag.

Nevatt is among 15 defendants charged in the indictment; 13 have pleaded guilty and one has been sentenced. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh Ragner. It was investigated by the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and other law enforcement agencies.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Nevatt’s conviction marks another major blow to the region’s methamphetamine trade, which has plagued southern Missouri and the Kansas City area for years.

The case is a reminder of the devastating impact of methamphetamine trafficking on our communities and the importance of continued law enforcement efforts to disrupt and dismantle these organizations.

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