Law Enforcement Officers Honored for Investigations Related to Foreign Acts of Violence and Deadly Fentanyl Distribution

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - R. Matthew Price, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, recognized the recipients of the 2026 Guardian of Justice Award, which honored several local and federal law enforcement officers for their work on significant investigations within the district.

The award recipients were honored during the 24th Annual Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee Training Seminar in Springfield, Mo. The prestigious law enforcement award is presented annually by the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee.

"I commend the agents and law enforcement officers whose dedication and investigative efforts helped bring many dangerous individuals to justice," said U.S. Attorney Price. "Their work has made our communities safer and serves as an important reminder that collaboration and cooperation are critical to our shared mission of protecting the communities we serve."

Material Support to Cameroon Separatists Case

Special Agent Jake Green with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kansas City Field Office, received this year's Guardian of Justice Award for his exemplary work in helping the Western District of Missouri obtain its first ever trial conviction for providing material support to commit various acts of violence abroad.

Green's work resulted in the successful conviction of three men who provided material support to separatists in Cameroon. Francis Chenyi, Sr., 52, of Saint Paul, Minn. and Lah Nestor Langmi, 49, of Buffalo, N.Y., both citizens of Cameroon, were sentenced to 180 months each in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Claude Ngenevu Chi, 43, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to 63 months, followed by three years of supervised release. All three men were involved in a conspiracy to provide material support or resources to kill, kidnap, and maim persons and use weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in a foreign country. The defendants conspired to provide funds and equipment to separatist fighters in Cameroon to allow them to construct and use IEDs against various targets in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.

SA Green provided countless hours of diligent, professional, and useful collaboration with the trial team. For example, SA Green worked with the Assistant U.S. Attorneys on the case by traveling out of state to speak with the victims prior to trial about the possibility of testifying. SA Green also worked with the AUSAs for months to identify useful electronic evidence, which was both voluminous and difficult to sift through due to the older document management system in which it was previously uploaded.

Tiger Draggoo Fentanyl Distribution Case

The second Guardian of Justice Award was presented to the law enforcement and legal team responsible for the successful conviction of drug distributor Tiger Draggoo, who was responsible for three fentanyl overdose deaths in the district.

The recipients were:

Detective Jennifer Maynard, Jackson County Drug Task Force/Lee's Summit Police Department; Detective Mike Murphy, Grandview, Missouri Police Department/formerly Jackson County Drug Task Force; Detective Jeff Richardson, Belton, Missouri Police Department; Corporal Tony Sterner, Cass County Sheriff's Office; Special Agent Tim Phipps, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Special Agent Tim Flohrschutz, Federal Bureau of Investigation Kansas City Field Office; and Scott Hamann, U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri, Financial Investigator.

Tiger Draggoo, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to 40 years in prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and three counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. The victims were ages 17, 18, and 21. In addition, the Court ordered the forfeiture of $146,066 that was seized at the time of his arrest, imposition of a money judgment in the amount of $611,698, and restitution to the victims' families in the total amount of $65,937.20. At his guilty plea, Draggoo admitted to distributing or possessing with intent to distribute at least 22,364 fentanyl pills. Law enforcement seized 23 firearms from Draggoo, which included two machineguns and one short-barreled shotgun. In addition to Draggoo, seven other defendants pleaded guilty to this conspiracy.

2026 Enoch B. Morelock Award

Detective Steve Cook of the Independence, Missouri Police Department was the recipient of the 2026 Enoch B. Morelock Award, which celebrates outstanding moral character as well as service to law enforcement and the community.

Detective Cook has been employed with the Independence Missouri Police Department since 1993 and has more than 30 years of criminal investigations experience to include assignments at the Jackson County Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration's Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Crime Gang Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Task Force. In these capacities, Detective Cook has been a leading force in the prosecution of over 1000 defendants at the state and federal level.

In 1999, Detective Cook's initiation into federal prosecution requiring jury determination was in the matter of United States v. Mark P. Clayton, a clandestine laboratory methamphetamine manufacturing case which resulted in the defendant receiving a 241-month sentence.

Detective Cook also prepared and presented more than 40 of the approximately 180 cases for federal prosecution involving the illegal use/possession of firearms, the distribution of controlled substances and the victimization of women and children during the Western District of Missouri's, Operation Red Card, which commenced just before the FIFA World Cup Soccer Games in Kansas City, Mo.

Additionally, Detective Cook is considered a subject matter expert in the area of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMG) and provides OMG training to law enforcement around the world.

Guardian of Justice Award

The annual Guardian of Justice Award recognizes a state or local officer as well as a federal agent for investigative excellence, selfless collaboration, tireless trial support, commendable diligence and professionalism, and noteworthy assistance to prosecution. The prestigious law enforcement award is presented by the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee each year during the law enforcement training seminar.