KC, Mississippi, men sentenced to life in prison for murders, drug trafficking conspiracy

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

4 1 minute read

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Two men have been convicted in federal court for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that included two murders.

The duo from Kansas City, Missouri, and Crowder, Mississippi, were sentenced Thursday and Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Shawn Burkhalter, 35, of Kansas City, and Joshua Nesbitt, 30, of Crowder, Mississippi, were each convicted at trial of three drug charges, two counts of discharging a firearm in connection with a crime of violence and drugs. – felony trafficking, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of conspiracy to commit witness and tampering with evidence, one count of murder of a potential witness and one count of tampering with evidence.

Burkhalter was also convicted of an additional count of witness tampering.

The criminal duo participated in a decade-long conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana from 2008 to February 2018. Court records indicate six other co-defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy .

Evidence collected during the trial showed that the two men stole cocaine from Danny Lamont Dean on September 10, 2015, and during that robbery, they shot him with an AR-15. The following month, the duo shot and killed Anthony Dwayne Johnson while stealing marijuana from him.

On September 8, 2015, they also robbed a Kansas City business while brandishing the same AR-15 rifle used in both murders.

During Thursday's hearing, the government presented evidence that Nesbitt repeatedly assaulted detention center staff members while he was incarcerated and awaiting trial.