Judge sentences convicted Kansas City meth kingpin linked to 2 kidnappings, murders
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a Kansas City man to spend life in prison on convictions of drug trafficking and other offenses related to a “heavily armed” multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise that authorities linked to two killings.
Trevor S. Sparks, 34, was handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole plus another five years. Judge Greg Kays ordered the sentences to run consecutively with the 33 months Sparks was given for escaping the Cass County jail in December.
In November, Sparks was found guilty at trial of running a methamphetamine-trafficking ring worth an estimated $4.1 million. Prosecutors say Sparks was the leader of the criminal organization, which included dozens of co-conspirators and stretched from Kansas City to St. Louis.
The meth empire was tied to two area killings in August 2018.
The first was James Hampton, an associate of the group who prosecutors say was kidnapped, beaten and tortured after drugs and money were stolen by another co-conspirator. He was found dead in the trunk of a burning car in Bates City on Aug. 6, 2018.
Two days later, Brittanie Broyles was shot to death in a flea market parking lot. Prosecutors said Broyles witnessed Hampton’s kidnapping.
Sparks allegedly orchestrated the kidnappings of Hampton and Broyles. He was not convicted of a crime directly related to their deaths but was found responsible in federal court, according to prosecutors.
In early December, Sparks was being held in the Cass County jail to await federal sentencing. He and another prisoner escaped through “damage” to the facility on Dec. 6, according to court documents.
Three weeks later, Sparks was apprehended shortly after authorities tracked him to the yard of a Blue Springs residence. He was charged alongside his mother, step-father and other associates accused of aiding the escape.
