KANSAS CITY, MO – A convicted drug kingpin’s brazen escape from the Cass County Jail has landed his mother and an accomplice in federal custody. Trevor Sparks, 30s, of Kansas City, Mo., was apprehended this morning after a frantic manhunt, but not before allegedly receiving crucial assistance from those closest to him. Sparks was convicted on November 7, 2022, of leading a criminal conspiracy linked to two murders, multiple violent assaults, and the daily distribution of at least a kilogram of methamphetamine across Missouri. He faced sentencing when he vanished.
According to federal affidavits, Sparks orchestrated his escape with help from within the jail walls. Phone records reveal a series of calls to his mother, Dawn Branstietter, 54, of Blue Springs, Mo., where he explicitly requested a getaway car, stating, “You are probably going to pick me up real soon. Real, real, real soon.” When Branstietter failed to answer, Sparks turned to Steven Lydell Williams, Sr., 64, of Kansas City, Mo., to secure transportation. Williams allegedly picked up Sparks and fellow escapee Sergio Perez Martinez, 43, of Panorama City, Calif., at a Casey’s store on December 5, 2022. Williams was previously charged on December 7, 2022, with aiding and assisting an escape.
The investigation took a chilling turn when authorities interviewed Branstietter at her residence on December 9, 2022. She reportedly declared she would willingly go to prison to ensure her son’s freedom, and her husband offered no cooperation. Investigators then turned to digital evidence, uncovering a flurry of cryptic communication between Branstietter and Nicholas Parris, 38, of Kansas City, Mo., the ex-boyfriend of Sparks’s sister. The pair discussed travel to Texas, where Sparks’s sister resides, with communication spiking dramatically after the escape, shifting to voice and video channels.
The net tightened this morning when Sparks was spotted leaving a Blue Springs residence frequently visited by Branstietter. He entered a vehicle with his mother and drove directly to Parris’s home, where all three were taken into custody by Kansas City police. This arrest follows the filing of federal criminal complaints charging Branstietter and Parris with aiding or assisting an escape from confinement. Perez Martinez remains at large.
Sparks’s conviction detailed a far-reaching criminal enterprise responsible for widespread violence and drug trafficking across Missouri, including Kansas City, Springfield, St. Joseph, and St. Louis. He was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of participating in a money-laundering conspiracy, one count of possessing firearms in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The escape attempt clearly demonstrates a desperate attempt to evade justice for these serious offenses.
Federal prosecutors emphasize that the charges against Branstietter and Parris are accusations, and the burden of proof rests with the government. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, led by Teresa A. Moore, will present evidence to a federal trial jury to determine the guilt or innocence of all defendants. The search for Perez Martinez continues, and authorities urge anyone with information to come forward immediately.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Organized Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Press Release
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