Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing a large quantity of methamphetamine that was discovered by probation officers while conducting a residence check.

Michelle L. Stevens, 47, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District judge Brian C. Wimes to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Stevens was a federal felon on supervised release for a 2010 conviction for distributing methamphetamine when numerous U.S. Probation officers conducted a residence check on March 14, 2017. As officers conducted a security sweep of her apartment, they noticed a door adjacent to the entry door to Stevens’s apartment. She claimed that the room was used for storage. When officers opened the door, however, they learned the “storage space” was in fact another apartment, where they discovered a large amount of contraband.

According to today’s plea agreement, officers seized 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamine (stored in various places, the bulk of it in a laundry bag in the corner of the living room, which also contained a plastic bag with about 55 grams of marijuana), a loaded Browning .25-caliber handgun, $8,866 and several items of drug paraphernalia. Stevens was placed under arrest.

Under federal statutes, Stevens is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Probation Office, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at
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