St. Joseph Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Federal Prison

KANSAS CITY, MO – A St. Joseph man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison yesterday (Tuesday) for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and for illegally possessing firearms.

Forty-eight-year-old Roderick A. Hughes entered a guilty plea to the charges, admitted that he conspired to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin in the St. Joseph area from September 1, 2019 to March 26, 2021, and that he possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.  According to court records, Hughes is responsible for distributing at least 461.9 grams of heroin, which is over 4,600 potentially lethal doses of the drug.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hughes’s apartment on Feb. 23, 2021. Officers found a silver revolver on the kitchen table. They also found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun on a nightstand in the bedroom, a Stoeger 9mm handgun and a Jennings Bryco 9mm handgun on a shelf in the bedroom, and a black safe under the bed that contained 23.4 grams of heroin and $4,703 in cash. Officers also searched the garage and found three plastic bags with a total of 96.3 grams of heroin hidden in the rafters.

Co-defendant Franklin T. Hicks Jr., also known as “Frankie,” 42, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty to the same charges and will be sentenced on Nov. 1, 2023.

Hicks was arrested outside of a hotel in St. Joseph on Jan. 22, 2021. He was in possession of 35.8 grams of heroin and $2,687 in cash. Officers also found a loaded Rock Island Armory .380-caliber handgun under the driver’s seat of his car and a Ruger 9mm handgun in the glovebox.

Co-defendant Harvey E. Johnson, 50, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to his role in the heroin-trafficking conspiracy and will be sentenced on Oct. 26, 2023. Johnson, who was in possession of approximately 51 grams of heroin at the time of his arrest, admitted that the drug-trafficking conspiracy involved at least two kilograms of heroin.