NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

JULY 16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

23 DEFENDANTS INDICTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING,

MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACIES

SOLD NEARLY $3 MILLION WORTH OF MARIJUANA,

PLUS COCAINE AND ECSTASY

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 23 defendants have been indicted by a federal grand jury, in three separate but related cases, for their roles in drug-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracies.

Rasheed G. Shakur, also known as “Charles G. Cook,” 40, of Kansas City, Mo., his brother Grant T. Cook, 41, of Los Angeles, Calif., Audel Delgado-Ordonez, also known as “Mario Alacantar,” 27, a citizen of Mexico residing in Goodyear, Ariz., Tina M. Tate, also known as “Tina Crout,” 51, Latoyce Stockman, 31, Henry W. Johnson, also known as “Bone” and “Bona Fide,” 37, Damon Hanson, 29, Terry Crout, 36, Tamiko Timmons, 36, Mark Mayo, 35, Leonard Spencer, also known as “Whispers,” 24, Michael A. Cook, also known as “Little Mike,” 32, and Barbara Crawford, 22, all of Kansas City, Mo., Carlos L. Hamilton, 30, and Alexandra S. McKinney, 27, both of Kansas City, Kan., Deangeloo L. Little, also known as “Deangelo Little,” 27, of St. Joseph, Mo., Kevin E. Spencer, 21, and Tara M. Yancik, 29, both of Blue Springs, Mo., Stacie L. Edmonds, 37, of Olathe, Kan., Edward Spencer, 26, of North Carolina, and RS Design, LLC, a company owned by Shakur, were charged in a 10-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

Today’s indictment alleges that each of these defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute ecstasy, 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and five kilograms or more of cocaine in Jackson County, Mo., from July 1, 2004, to June 25, 2009.

Felipe Reyes, also known as “Felipe Camacho,” 34, a citizen of Mexico, and Jesse M. Oliver, 28, of Elk Grove, Calif., were each charged in separate but related indictments returned on the same day. Reyes allegedly participated in a conspiracy with Shakur and Spencer (who are not charged in that indictment) to distribute five kilograms of cocaine between Jan. 1 and June 25, 2009. Oliver allegedly participated in a conspiracy with Shakur and Yancik (who are not charged in that indictment) to distribute marijuana and ecstasy between Jan. 1, 2006, and June 25, 2009.

According to the federal indictment, Shakur procured quantities of marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy, and arranged for their shipment to Kansas City through the mail. Hamilton, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, allegedly advised Shakur about postal security procedures and provided advice to Shakur on how to ship drugs through the mails and avoid detection.

Delgado-Ordonez allegedly supplied loads of marijuana to Shakur, in quantities of 100 pounds or more.

Tate, Little, Yancik, Stockman, McKinney, Edmonds, Johnson, Hanson, Crout, Cook and Crawford allegedly provided addresses to Shakur and/or accepted packages of drugs in the mail, which Shakur or his suppliers had shipped to Kansas City.

Edward Spencer allegedly purchased and attempted to purchase wholesale quantities of drugs, including cocaine, from Shakur. Tate, Stockman, Kevin Spencer, Timmons, Mayo, Leonard Spencer, Hanson and Cook allegedly purchased wholesale quantities of marijuana from Shakur for resale. Tate and Timmons also purchased quantities of ecstasy for resale, the indictment says.

The indictment also alleges that Shakur, Crawford and Yancik participated in a money-laundering conspiracy. Crawford and Yancik allegedly provided listings of real property to Shakur, so that Shakur could invest the proceeds of his drug trafficking. Crawford allegedly attempted to process Shakur’s purchases of real property using her position as a realtor. According to the indictment, Shakur used his business, RS Designs, to cover expenses and to conceal assets generated by the distribution of illegal drugs.

In addition to the drug-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracies, the indictment charges Shakur with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Tate is also charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and Tate and Crout are charged together in one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Shakur, Crout and Tate are each charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Shakur is also charged with possessing firearms, including an assault rifle and a .40-caliber handgun, in furtherance of drug-trafficking crimes.

The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations, which would require Shakur to forfeit $2,990,000 to the government. The indictment estimates, conservatively, that Shakur procured and sold approximately 2,600 pounds of marijuana during the charged conspiracy. Sold at $1,150 per pound, the marijuana had a retail value of $2,990,000. This figure does not take into account quantities of cocaine or ecstasy sold during the conspiracy.

Shakur and RS Design would also forfeit to the government all property derived from the proceeds of the alleged violations, and all property used to commit the alleged violations, including $18,445 that was seized from Shakur’s residence, $64,000 that was seized by law enforcement officers in Glendale, Ariz., and $7,788 held in a credit union account. Stockman would forfeit to the government $30,000 that was seized by law enforcement officers.

Shakur and RS Design would also forfeit to the government his residence in Clay County, Mo., as well as five residential properties in Jackson County, and two vehicles.

Whitworth cautioned that the charges contained in these indictments are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Ambrose, Jr. They were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the U.S. Marshal Service and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

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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