Preliminary hearing held for man charged following 18-hour standoff

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A federal case filed against a man charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl will move forward. This comes following an 18-hour standoff, which occurred after three police officers were shot in Kansas City.

A judge ruled Thursday probable cause was established to submit the charge filed against 50-year-old Jimmie R. Lewis Jr. to a grand jury. Lewis Jr. and co-defendant Ashley Davis are each charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

During a detention hearing for Davis on Wednesday, a detective for the Jackson County Drug Task Force testified investigators seized enough powdered fentanyl during the investigation to manufacture an estimated 3.5 million fentanyl pills with the potential to kill an estimated 2 million people.

According to the detective, investigators seized 8 pounds of powered fentanyl from a car driven by Davis and Lewis, Jr. Law enforcement seized an additional 5 pounds of methamphetamine, 7 pounds of powdered fentanyl, and approximately $18,000 cash after executing a search warrant at 2314 Blue Ridge Boulevard. That is where the standoff ended.

Before three officers were shot at the home, court records state the address was known to investigators as a location used by a drug trafficking organization to unload and store narcotics.

The detective testified the drug trafficking organization was known to send a man and a woman, to appear to be a couple traveling together, to transport methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine from California to Kansas City.

On Feb. 28, investigators were waiting for a Cadillac driven by Lewis Jr. and Davis to arrive at the home to execute a federal search warrant. Investigators previously received a federal search warrant to track Lewis Jr.’s GPS cellphone data from California to the Kansas City home as part of an ongoing investigation into a drug trafficking organization.

According to the detective, after officers announced they were law enforcement and breached the front door, someone shot at tactical officers from the front door, a front window and possibly a kitchen window.

More: Neighbor describes 18-hour standoff that followed officer-involved shooting

The three injured police officers have since been released from the hospital. An investigation is ongoing into who shot at the officers and the possibility that more than one person fired at police.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson said 62-year-old Matthew Carrell, who was found dead inside the home following the standoff, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On Thursday, a detective testified Carrell was found deceased in a back bedroom of the home.

According to court records, Lewis Jr. exited the home during the hourslong standoff after tear gas was deployed. Lewis Jr. will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Lewis Jr. was previously charged in a three-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, for charges unrelated to the standoff. He was previously charged with one count of possessing methamphetamine 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 for offenses that allegedly occurred on Nov. 7, 2021.

Previous coverage:

8 pounds of fentanyl powder seized following standoff in KCMO

Two charged with intent to distribute fentanyl following three officers shot, standoff

Man died by suicide in house after shooting that wounded 3 KCPD officers, MSHP says

Neighbor describes 18-hour standoff that followed officer-involved shooting

Federal court charges man arrested during standoff in KCMO for alleged crimes in 2021

Standoff that began after 3 KCPD officers were shot comes to an end

Three KCPD officers shot, standoff continues into Wednesday morning

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