DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Missouri

For Immediate Release

Thursday, December 7, 2017
Tom Larson
, United States Attorney
Contact: Don Ledford

KC Man Sentenced for Cocaine Conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute more than six kilograms of cocaine.

Demond Robins, 36, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 12 years in federal prison without parole.

On March 20, 2017, Robins pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine from May 22 to Dec. 14, 2015, and to participating in a money-laundering conspiracy from Dec. 13, 2013, to Dec. 16, 2015.

Robins admitted that he provided cocaine to co-defendant Jonathan Villegas-Escobar, 26, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., who then distributed the drugs to customers and delivered the drug money back to Robins. During the course of this conspiracy, Villegas-Escobar and Robins distributed approximately 1.9 kilograms of cocaine to a law enforcement confidential informant. Villegas-Escobar has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12, 2017.

Robins needed someone to hold the proceeds of his drug sales and to help legitimize those illegal proceeds. During this time period, Robins did not have a job or an otherwise legitimate source of income. Robins’s girlfriend, Constance Anderson, 36, of Kansas City, Mo., assisted Robins in laundering his illicit drug proceeds. Anderson has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

During the conspiracy, Robins provided Anderson money to keep in either bank accounts, a safe deposit box, or elsewhere. Anderson later gave the money back to Robins when he needed it to purchase additional drugs for sale. Robins started out getting $5,000 at a time from Anderson to purchase 18 ounces of cocaine at a time, which he would then sell, but later he increased the amount he would get nearly $10,000 at a time, so that he could purchase larger amounts of cocaine.

Robins provided money (from the proceeds of drug sales) to Anderson, so that she could then purchase vehicles and real estate for him. One of the vehicles she purchased was a 2011 Jaguar XJ from a dealer in Chicago, Ill., for $33,421. Robins admitted that the purchase of a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, a 2008 BMW 650i convertible and a 2015 Ford F150 was made with the proceeds of drug trafficking. Anderson also purchased property on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Mo. The purpose of these purchases was to transform money from illegal drug sales into legitimate property. 

On Dec. 17, 2015, law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant on Anderson’s safe deposit box. Agents recovered $142,680 in cash from the box, along with various vehicle and property titles, vehicle keys and jewelry. Some of the money found in the safe deposit box was the pre-recorded buy money law enforcement used in purchasing cocaine from Villegas-Escobar. Agents also recovered approximately $9,995 in cash hidden in the trunk of Anderson’s car.

Robins has forfeited the Jaguar XJ and the cash seized by law enforcement agents, as well as any ownership interest in the real estate and other vehicles, to the federal government.

In addition to the approximately 1.9 kilogram of cocaine Robins and Villegas-Escobar sold to the confidential informant, the approximately $152,675 recovered equates to approximately 3.392 kilograms (based on approximately $45/gram). Additionally, Robins received approximately three kilograms of cocaine from Jose Aguayo-Rodriguez, 25, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo.; to avoid double-counting, only one additional kilogram of cocaine is attributed to Robins. This results in a total of approximately 6.292 kilograms of cocaine. Aguayo-Rodriguez pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 1, 2017, to three years in federal prison without parole.
 
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

 

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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/usao-wdmo

 

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Kansas City Field Division