KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man has been convicted in federal court of illegally possessing PCP and a firearm.
Darrell L. Givens, 45, of Kansas City, was found guilty of one count of possessing PCP with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Givens has been detained in federal custody without bond since his arrest on March 31, 2016.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Givens was in possession of a loaded Jimenez.380-caliber semi-automatic handgun on March 31, 2016. Officers were dispatched to Givens’s residence on that date for a reported disturbance. Upon arrival the officers heard the sounds of screaming coming from within the residence. A woman told the officers, “He’s trying to hide his gun; he’s trying to hide it in the sink." Givens, who had been in the kitchen, walked towards the living room and told the officers that he didn’t have a gun. One of the officers saw a large red bowl upside down on the left side of the double-sided stainless steel sink; the firearm was hidden underneath the bowl.
When officers searched Givens they found a vial of PCP in the right cargo pocket of his pants. The vial also had small pieces of apparent tobacco floating in the brown liquid, which is indicative of tobacco cigarettes having previously been dipped into the liquid before being smoked. The amount of PCP Givens possessed is not considered a personal use amount and is more commonly found in the possession of individuals who engage in the sale of PCP. Givens was also in possession of $6,999 - in large quantities of multiple denominations (249 one dollar bills, 32 five dollar bills, 30 ten dollar bills, 92 twenty dollar bills, 13 fifty dollar bills, and 38 one hundred dollar bills), which is also commonly associated with sales of illegal narcotics.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Givens has four prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance and four prior felony convictions for distributing crack cocaine.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for about three hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, ending a trial that began Monday, June 19, 2017.
Under federal statutes, Givens is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
