KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A federal jury has convicted a meth kingpin in a criminal enterprise linked to two murders that followed a kidnapping in St. Louis in 2018.

Trevor Scott Sparks, 33, was found guilty of four felony charges in the investigation, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. He has been in federal custody without bond since Dec. 18, 2018.

Federal investigators say Sparks engaged in the drug trafficking conspiracy from Jan. 1, 2017, to December 12, 2018. He is not charged in the two murders connected with the conspiracy, though the jury reviewed evidence in trial alluding to his role in the deaths and multiple violent assaults. 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the deaths stemmed from a kidnapping in the St. Louis area. Investigators say members of the enterprise kidnapped James Hampton on Aug. 6, 2018. An indictment alleges Sparks thought he could help find the drugs and money that had been stolen from the organization.

Members involved in the conspiracy realized Hampton could not or help, so he was restrained, beaten and placed in the trunk of a car on the way to the Kansas City area. Brittanie Broyles, who witnessed Hampton being beaten and restrained, was also driven to Kansas City.

Authorities found Hampton’s body inside a burning car later on Aug. 6. Two days later, authorities found Broyles’ body just north of Kansas City after she had suffered two gunshot wounds to the head.

In addition to Sparks, 31 people have pleaded guilty in this case and its companion case. Once sentenced, Sparks must also pay a money judgment of up to $4.1 million, an amount based on the methamphetamine he unlawfully distributed.

Sparks faces anywhere from 15 years to life in prison for his latest conviction. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Before his latest conviction, Sparks also had two prior felony convictions for robbery, and prior felony convictions for assault and possession of a controlled substance.