A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 26 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole for his involvement in a heroin distribution conspiracy and illegal firearm possession, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced Friday.
Edgar A. Mejia, 49, was convicted by a jury on March 22, 2024, according to the department.
Authorities reported that on Oct. 10, 2022, officers searched Mejia’s 2000 Coachman RV in Kansas City, Mo., while he was in custody in Oklahoma for drug trafficking charges.
Oklahoma investigators, alerted to additional drugs and firearms possibly hidden in Mejia’s RV, notified local authorities, who found the vehicle parked near an abandoned residence.
During the search, officers discovered 541 grams of heroin, a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm handgun, an American Tactical AR-15-style rifle, and ammunition hidden behind a kitchen wall, according to the department.
Six days before his trial, Mejia pleaded guilty to possessing the heroin with intent to distribute and to being a felon in possession of the firearms found in the RV, the department said.