‘Mayor’ of KC homeless camp sentenced for meth trafficking, gun possession
A 62-year-old man known as “The Mayor” of a Kansas City homeless camp was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison on federal drug and gun charges, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
U.S. District Court Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark on Thursday sentenced Ricky Lee Myers to a total of 10 years and 2 months in federal prison, followed by six years of supervised release.
Myers pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count each of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute near a school and illegally possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime. As part of the agreement, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a count of felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agents and task force members obtained a search warrant for a structure Myers built in a homeless camp on a dirt road extending from East 23rd Street, between Vine Street and Highland Avenue.
The camp was near Lincoln College Preparatory Middle School and Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, both located near Woodland Avenue and East 22nd Street.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) executed a search warrant on Oct. 23, 2024, and found Myers inside the residence.
They discovered a handgun in a jacket hanging above the bed, approximately 60 grams of methamphetamine, and a large amount of cash in a fanny pack inside a bag hanging on the wall next to the jacket, according to court documents. Agents also found a digital scale in a drawer next to the bed.
Court records show that his federal public defender requested that Myers be sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by six years of supervised release, due to his age and the terms of his supervised release.
