KC street gang leaders sentenced for drug-trafficking and drive-by shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Two Kansas City men who led a street gang were sentenced in federal court Monday for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and other criminal behavior that included a drive-by shooting outside a daycare center.

The U.S. Department of Justice said 36-year-old Ladele D. Smith, aka Dellio; and 33-year-old Roy Franklin, Jr., were sentenced Monday. Smith received a 35-year sentence and Franklin received a 30-year sentence. Both of them will serve the time in federal prison without parole.

The two men, who led the street gang 246, were found guilty at trial on Sept. 15, 2022, of participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, oxycodone and marijuana from Jan. 1, 2011, until Oct. 1, 2019.

Smith was also convicted of 15 additional counts that charged him with various drug-trafficking and firearms crimes, including one for a drive-by shooting and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to court documents, an investigation into the 246 gang began in June 2017 and revealed that Smith and a co-defendant, David J. Duncan IV were local rap artists who often posted on social media with references to the gang. Duncan, 34, was convicted along with 43-year-old Gary O. Toombs during the September 2022 trial and will face sentencing on Sept. 26, 2023. In some of the videos, Smith and the others showed firearms and large amounts of cash.

READ MORE: Federal jury convicts four members of KC gang in drug-trafficking conspiracy

Documents said Smith only made $300 from his music but he spent about $54,000 at a department store over the course of three years, and spent more than $27,000 on rental cars in the period from 2017 to 2019.

Law enforcement said members of the 246 gang utilized a residence in the 4400 block of Kensington, located within 1,000 feet of George Washington Carver Dual Language School for gang and drug-trafficking business. Because of that proximity to the school, Smith was found guilty of one count of distributing marijuana near a school and four counts of distributing heroin near a school. Franklin was found guilty of two counts of distributing marijuana near a school.

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