Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man who was involved in a fatal shooting during a drug deal was sentenced in federal court today for drug trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm.

Orval L. Johnson, 26, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 10 in federal prison without parole.

On April 30, 2019, Johnson pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing cocaine, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, one count of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute, and one count of being a drug user in possession of a firearm.

Johnson admitted that he sold cocaine to an undercover detective with the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department on three separate occasions in 2017. During the third drug transaction, Johnson was armed with a loaded Glock .357-caliber pistol with an extended magazine. Johnson told the undercover detective that someone recently tried to rob him and threatened to kill him and his girlfriend. “I had to kill (him),” Johnson said, “I blew half his … face off.” Johnson repeatedly bragged to the undercover detective about the killing that occurred four days earlier.

According to court documents, Johnson was referring to a homicide investigation in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. Co-defendant Latasha M. Alexander, 27, falsely claimed that a man, identified in court documents as “R.B.,” came to her residence on March 9, 2017, to smoke marijuana and tried to rape her. She told law enforcement officers that R.B. fired a shot at her, then she shot and killed him in self-defense. Investigators believed her lie, according to court documents, until Johnson bragged about the killing to the undercover detective.

Alexander later admitted that she falsely reported the attempted rape in order to conceal Johnson’s drug-trafficking offense. Alexander pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony and was sentenced to eight months in federal prison without parole.

Johnson and Alexander admitted that R.B. came to their apartment to purchase cocaine. He attempted to rob Johnson, and a struggle ensued. Johnson yelled at Alexander to grab the gun; she retrieved a firearm and shot R.B., who then attacked her. Johnson grabbed the gun and shot R.B. several times, killing him. According to court documents, both Johnson and Alexander consistently claimed self-defense, which is not refuted by the physical evidence at the scene.

Johnson was arrested on March 14, 2017. The day after his admission to the undercover detective, the undercover detective contacted Johnson to arrange for the purchase of 3.5 grams of cocaine for $170.  Johnson was arrested when he left a nearby residence on his way to conduct the drug transaction. He had a Glock .357-caliber semi-automatic pistol, which had been reported as stolen, in his right front pants pocket and 3.39 grams of cocaine in his left coat pocket.

Johnson admitted to law enforcement officers that he had been making deliveries of cocaine five to 10 times a day, every day since November 2016. Johnson said he had been using about a gram of cocaine a day since November of 2016.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Caine. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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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

http://www.justice.gov/wdmo

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