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Grand jury indicts California man in Thomas Co. cocaine bust

WICHITA — A federal grand jury Tuesday returned an indictment against a California man who was arrested in Thomas County, charging him with possession with intent to distribute 4 kilograms of cocaine, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Patrick Yarborough, 35, Lawndale, Calif., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking. The indictment alleges he had traveled from California to Kansas for the purpose of drug trafficking when he was arrested Oct. 11.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2 million on the possession with intent to distribute charge, and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the interstate travel charge. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jacobs is prosecuting.

Also indicted by the grand jury was Costel Neicu, 33, a citizen of Romania, who is charged in a superseding indictment with two counts of possessing false passports, two counts of possessing false immigration documents, two counts of producing false immigration documents and one count of aggravated identity theft. The crimes are alleged to have occurred March 1, 2012, in Ellis County.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the first four counts of possessing false documents, a maximum penalty of 15 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of producing false documents, and a mandatory two years to run consecutive to other sentences and a fine up to $250,000 on the aggravated identity theft count. The Kansas Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

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