Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Jose D. Drew, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 30 years in federal prison without parole. Drew was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.

On Jan. 16, 2020, Drew was found guilty at trial of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Drew was in possession of a loaded Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine on July 13, 2018. Agents stopped a vehicle when it pulled into a parking spot in front of an apartment building and arrested Drew. When agents searched the vehicle, they found the Glock pistol between the passenger seat (where Drew was sitting) and the center console. A DNA comparison later confirmed that Drew’s DNA was located on the trigger guard area of the pistol.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Drew has three prior felony convictions for robbery and armed criminal action, each of which involved the possession and use of a deadly weapon. According to court documents, Drew was on parole for two of these offenses when he committed the federal crime. While under supervision for these offenses, Drew incurred 31 conduct violations.

According to court documents, while in custody in this case Drew stabbed another inmate with a sharpened piece of metal, slammed a correctional officer’s head into a food tray port, which resulted in the officer’s hospitalization, struck an assistant shift supervisor, and attempted to strike correctional officers with a homemade weapon.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Smith and Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.