KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ten area residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a $5.4 million conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to a news release, Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, made the announcement Friday.

Michaela Joeanne Hernandez, 36, of Raymore, Mo., Brandy Michael Morgan, 44, of Kansas City, Mo., Anthony Dewayne Fifer, 46, of Mexico, Mo., Sharmyn Leanne Shryock, 27, and Jeffery Allen Jennings, 31, both of St. Joseph, Mo., Charlsie Kim Harris, 33, of Garden City, Mo., Eric Edward Ballard, 25, and Linda Kay Ballard, 65, both of Atchison, Kan., Brian Joe Russell, 36, of Amazonia, Mo., and Adrian Leon Madrigal, 27, address unknown, were charged in a five-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury on Nov. 16, 2017. The indictment has been unsealed following the arrests and initial court appearances of some of the defendants.

The federal indictment alleges that all 10 co-defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Jan. 1, 2015, to Nov. 16, 2017. The indictment alleges the distribution of more than 321 kilograms of methamphetamine during the conspiracy. The five co-defendants are also charged together in one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

In addition to the conspiracy counts, Hernandez is charged with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Hernandez allegedly was in possession of a Springfield Armory 9mm handgun and a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun between April 1 and Oct. 14, 2017.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Hernandez has a prior felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require all 10 co-defendants to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged drug-trafficking conspiracy, including a money judgment of $5.4 million. This represents the amount of money received in exchange for the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine, the indictment says, based on an approximate sale price of $600 per ounce and distribution of at least 9,000 ounces (approximately 321.4 kilograms) of methamphetamine.

Larson said that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Plattsburg, Mo., Police Department; the Atchison County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department; the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force and Sheriff’s Department; the Jackson County Drug Task Force; the Clinton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department; the Missouri State Highway Patrol; the Cass County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department; and the Clay County Drug Task Force.

A woman has been arrested in relation to an investigation into packages being stolen off porches in St. Joseph.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph Police Department, around 1:30 Thursday afternoon, officers responded to the 4300 block of Hidden Valley Dr. in reference to multiple reports of packages being stolen from porches. After several hours of investigation, officers were able to gather a description of the suspect vehicle and later arrested a 52-year-old woman in the 900 block of N. 12th. As a result of the investigation, officers recovered a large amount of stolen packages.

The case is being further investigated by the Detective Division. At this time, all packages recovered remain in Police Evidence.

Capt. Wilson said if anyone thinks they may be missing a package, they can contact the police department to make a report at (816) 271-4777.

Open Door Food Kitchen held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon for its new location.

The food kitchen has been serving hungry people in St. Joseph at its location at 510 Edmond St. for over 30 years.

President of the Board for Open Door Food Kitchen LeeAnn Smiley said relocating has been an idea in the works for awhile.   

“This is a collaborative project of getting this underway. It’s not something that we had as an initiative, but when we were approached and looked at the concept, we were very excited about the idea,” Smiley said. “Our current facility is not as energy efficient as it should be, it’s not one level, it’s not (easily) accessible for some of our patrons, but the new building’s going to be all of that for us and more. So we want to thank everybody that has participated, that has helped, that has volunteered, that has donated, that has made this possible at this time that we can have a groundbreaking.”

The new facility will be at 619 S. Eighth Street in St. Joseph. Smiley said, weather permitting, construction will start in March and the goal is to have the new facility open in the fall.

With colder temperatures on the way, there are some safety measures to follow to prevent fires due to heating sources.

Steve Henrichson is a Fire Inspector with the St. Joseph Fire Department. Henrichson said, nationally, fires related to space heaters are a major issue but locally, it has not been a problem in the past few years with about one or two reported per year. However, a fire about five years ago caused by a space heater too close to a curtain resulted in the deaths of four residents.

Henrichson said the most important thing to do with any heating source is to give it three feet of space.

“Space heater, water heater, things like that, just because of the radiant heat over time… it can cause problems,” Henrichson said. “Fireplaces… say, somebody has a rocking chair or something that’s in the same area, been there for years and years and all of a sudden it bursts into flames, it’s what we call pyrolysis. It’s just a slow decay of a piece of wood getting heated up over time, it just slowly deteriorates to the point where one day it decides to actually start on fire.”

Henrichson said it’s also important to plug things like space heaters directly into the wall and to check lights when putting up holiday decorations.

“The biggest thing with Christmas lights is making sure they’re in good repair,” Henrichson said. “Live (Christmas) trees, be really careful, make sure they’ve got plenty of water because a live tree, once it dries out will go up quick.”

Henrichson said to also test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they’re working properly.

“Almost 20 years I’ve been an investigator and I’ve never gone into a house that had a working smoke detector that had a fatality in it,” Henrichson said. “You should have just changed your batteries with ‘Change your clock, change your batteries,’ but after 10 years smoke detectors need to be taken and replaced just because they are a mechanical device that after 10 years of running 24/7 they lose their effectiveness and efficiency.”

For more winter heating safety tips, visit the National Fire Protection Association website.

(UPDATE 2:34 p.m. Wednesday) The water main break at Mark Twain has been repaired and staff and students will return to school Thursday.

According to St. Joseph School District Director of Communications Bridget Blevins, a section of the sidewalk in the front of the school had to be removed to make the repair and it will be blocked off with fencing until the sidewalk can be replaced.

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Mark Twain Elementary School will not have school Wednesday.

The St. Joseph School District said the closure is due to a water line break at the building.

The water line break is only impacting Mark Twain and no other schools.

The St. Joseph School District Board of Education is considering what additional cuts need to be made after voting to close two schools at Monday night’s meeting.

The Board of Education voted 6 to 1 to close Humboldt Elementary School and Lake Contrary Elementary School. The closings are part of cuts made as the School District was facing an approximately $8.5 million budget deficit.

The cuts and changes made Monday night, including the closings, curriculum advisor reorganization and administrative reorganization, totaled approximately $6.1 million.

Board of Education member Larry Koch said the decision to close the schools was not an easy one.

“It kind of came down to the desire to have the least amount of disruption… Schools become families, they become large families… and when you start disrupting that, it becomes painful,” Koch said. “The fact is, the school district has known for a number of years now that we needed to reduce the number of elementary schools and ultimately the number of middle schools and high schools, but it’s a real challenge to do that. The outcome of the vote (in November) made it very clear that we could no longer kick the can down the road. The public wanted changes so I think it’s jump started the plan that’s been out there on the shelf for a couple years now.”

Koch said Humboldt and Lake Contrary were chosen to be closed as they were smaller and it would be easiest to transfer students from Humboldt to Lindbergh Elementary School and Robidoux Middle School and from Lake to Hosea Elementary School and Spring Garden Middle School.

The Board is still considering other recommendations to meet the total amount of needed cuts to balance the budget. Koch said other cuts being considered will include changes to extra curricular activities and changes with health insurance.

The board also voted Monday night on whether to approve steps and movement for staff members or to freeze salaries for the 2018-19 school year. The board voted 5-2 in favor of approving steps and movement for the next school year.

The board meets again December 18.

For more information on budget cuts made and being considered and to view the entire meeting, click here.

The board is also wanting to gather feedback from staff, students, parents and the community as the search process continues for the District’s next superintendent of schools. The town hall meeting schedule includes opportunities to provide feedback:

The next meetings will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Robidoux Middle School and at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Spring Garden Middle School.

For those unable to attend a town hall session, the survey is available online. Responses will be accepted through December 16, 2017.

The Board plans to name a new superintendent in February and the new superintendent will assume duties on July 1, 2018.