Kansas City woman Michelle L. Stevens, 47, stood before a federal judge Tuesday and admitted to trafficking methamphetamine—just days after probation officers uncovered a hidden apartment stuffed with drugs, cash, and a loaded handgun.
Stevens, already a federal felon on supervised release for a 2010 conviction tied to distributing meth, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute in U.S. District Court. The hearing, presided over by Judge Brian C. Wimes, revealed a brazen operation concealed behind a false door next to her own unit.
On March 14, 2017, U.S. Probation officers conducted a routine residence check. During a security sweep, they spotted a suspicious door adjacent to Stevens’s apartment entrance. She claimed it was a storage space. When opened, it exposed not storage—but a fully occupied second apartment rigged for drug distribution.
Inside, agents seized 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, the bulk stashed in a laundry bag in the living room corner. That same bag held a plastic sack with 55 grams of marijuana. Also recovered: a loaded Browning .25-caliber handgun, $8,866 in cash, and multiple items of drug paraphernalia used for packaging and distribution.
Because Stevens is a convicted felon caught with drugs and a firearm, she faces a federal mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison without parole. Prosecutors note she could be sentenced up to life under the statute. The final term will hinge on sentencing guidelines and judicial discretion after a presentence investigation by U.S. Probation.
The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther and was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Probation Office, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department. Sentencing is pending and will be scheduled following the completion of investigative reports.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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