Paroled killer is charged in Kansas City drug ring

A Kansas City man on parole for the 2001 killing of a 16-year-old boy now is charged with being part of a cocaine distribution ring.

Todd K. Boyd, 37, who was released from prison in August, was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of distributing cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Court documents describe several December transactions in which Boyd allegedly sold cocaine to undercover officers.

On Dec. 17, police stopped a vehicle he was driving and found powder and crack cocaine in 18 individually wrapped packages, according to court documents.

That same day, police executed a search warrant at a house where they believed Boyd was living. During the search they found more cocaine and a .40-caliber handgun along with documents linking Boyd to the house.

Three others linked to Boyd also have been charged previously, according to the documents.

Darryl A. Smith, 25, Kimani Sterling, 24, and Antwanette Howard, 29, are charged in federal court with multiple counts of distributing cocaine.

Sterling also is charged with second-degree murder in Jackson County Circuit Court for the November shooting death of Ja’Que Dawkins at 57th and Oak streets. According to court documents, the vehicle that Dawkins was shot in was later recovered after it had been abandoned and burned.

Investigators determined that Smith had rented the vehicle, according to the documents.

In 2004, Boyd was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 2001 killing of Ronald Johnson. The teen was killed in a drive-by shooting outside his central Kansas City home after he was mistaken for someone else.

Boyd was driving the car used in the shooting. Another man who fired the shots was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 11:01 AM.