KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City man was convicted in federal court Friday for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and of illegally possessing firearms, according to the United State's Attorney.
Edgar A. Mejia, 49, was found guilty by a jury of one count each of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
On Oct. 10, 2022, law enforcement officers searched a 2000 Coachman recreational vehicle that belonged to Mejia. At the time of the search, Mejia was in custody in Oklahoma following his arrest for drug trafficking. Investigators in Oklahoma received information that Mejia had additional drugs and firearms hidden in his Coachman RV, and notified local authorities.
Officers located Mejia’s RV parked next to an abandoned residence in the 2300 block of Drury Avenue in Kansas City. Investigators searched the RV and found, hidden behind a wall in the kitchen, 541 grams of heroin, a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm semi-automatic handgun, an American Tactical AR-15-style rifle, and ammunition.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for approximately three and a half hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, ending a trial that began Wednesday, March 20.
Mejia previously pleaded guilty to one count of possessing the heroin inside the RV with the intent to distribute it and one count of being a felon in possession of the firearms recovered from the RV.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Mejia has two prior state felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and prior federal felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.