6 men charged with alleged Kansas City fentanyl dealer in overdose deaths of 3 metro teens

An alleged fentanyl dealer and six other people tied to him now face federal charges in the 2022 overdose deaths of three teenagers in a Kansas City suburb.

The drug trafficking conspiracy involved illegal guns and money laundering, according to prosecutors in the Western District of Missouri.

Between August and December 2022, Tiger Dean Draggoo, 23, allegedly sold fentanyl disguised as Percocet that led to the deaths of three Belton teenagers through acute fentanyl intoxication, according to court records.

Last week, he was indicted alongside his brother, Colt Justin Draggoo, 20, Jose Amparan, 20, and Luis Manuel Morales, 23, all from Kansas City. Also indicted were Andrew R.A. Williams, 22, of Grandview, Alexander D. Barnett, 22, of Lee’s Summit, and Javier Armanmdo Alvarez, 21, of Kansas City, Kansas.

“We got a report that someone was selling pills to high school kids in Belton and Grandview,” the Jackson County Drug Task Force said in a statement Tuesday. “We did have a first name to go on—Tiger.”

The indictment was returned on Sept. 27 and unsealed the next day, when Colt Draggoo was also arrested. The new indictment replaces the original one that was returned in February, only charging Tiger Draggoo.

Over several months, detectives interviewed juveniles and family members who told them of a person selling the pills — usually between $20 and $30 apiece, advertised as Percocet — and went by “Tiger” or the alias “Ricky Thomas,” according to court documents.

All seven defendants were in some way associated with the drug conspiracy, according to the indictment. Separately, Tiger Draggoo, Alvarez, Amparan, Morales and Williams are also charged in a money-laundering conspiracy.

Tiger Draggoo is also charged with three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death, one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and one count of possessing an unregistered firearm, court records show. When arrested in January 2023, authorities also found five firearms and fentanyl in his home and vehicle.

A few months earlier, in September 2022, police were surveilling an apartment complex when they saw the Draggoo brothers get into a Jeep, charging documents show. Law enforcement followed and watched the brothers drive erratically. When a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy tried pulling them over for numerous traffic violations, they fled.

A few minutes later they showed back up at the apartment complex. Police followed them in and were let into the apartment by one of the men’s girlfriends. Inside, police founds 17 guns, including two machine guns, ammunition, nearly $250,000 in cash, a bullet proof vest, a money counter and drugs including fentanyl.

Williams is also charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

The defendants will face a federal jury.

Fentanyl deaths have been rising across the country in recent years. Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, is available to Missouri residents at pharmacies. A prescription is not needed to purchase Narcan in Missouri.

The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified one of the three people whose overdose deaths was a part of the federal indictment.