KC man charged after police find AR-15 rifle and about 10 pounds of meth: indictment

A Kansas City man faces three felony charges in federal court after police searched his home earlier this month and found a large quantity of meth, an AR-15 style rifle and nearly $87,000 in cash.

Carlos A. Lucatero-Delgado, 26, is accused of drug possession with the intent to distribute and two weapons crimes in the Western District of Missouri. An indictment was issued by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, according to court records.

The investigation was led by Kansas City police. It began after officers were called by a neighbor who mistakenly opened a package intended for Lucatero-Delgado’s address that contained what she believed to be illegal drugs, according to the federal criminal complaint.

Police interviewed Lucatero-Delgado on Oct. 6 in his home in the 300 block of N. Wheeling Avenue. When first asked about the package, he told investigators he was awaiting a different package that contained motorcycle parts, according to court documents.

The package with the reported drugs was addressed to a man of another name, who Lucatero-Delgado denied knowing.

While inside his home, a police sergeant performed a “visual sweep” and noticed an AR-15 rifle through an open door leading into a bedroom. It was beside a large brown container where a large sum of cash was stacked, the affidavit says.

Lucatero-Delgado declined to allow police to search the house, according to court records. He was arrested on site on suspicion of possessing a firearm while living in the U.S. illegally.

A search warrant was granted in Jackson County the following day. Five Kansas City officers searched the premises and reported finding $86,696 in cash, digital scales, drug paraphernalia, roughly 10 pounds of methamphetamine and an M-4 Carbine rifle loaded with 22 live rounds of ammo.

During an interview with police, Lucatero-Delgato denied selling methamphetamine and said the rifle discovered by police did not belong to him.