FBI: Reward upped to $10,000 for Wichita men wanted in connection to drug ring

The reward has been doubled to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men tied to a Wichita drug ring being run from an Oklahoma prison cell, the FBI announced Friday.

The reward is for information on 40-year-old Dorzee Hill and 41-year-old Otis Ponds, both of Wichita. On March 6, the FBI announced a $5,000 reward for Hill, Ponds and 39-year-old Trevor Wells of Wichita. Wells was arrested on March 11 at the Starlite Motor Lodge, 6345 E. Kellogg.

U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister previously said in a news release that the Wichita drug ring was run from an Oklahoma prison cell by 47-year-old Travis E. Knighten, who used nearly two dozen underlings living in Wichita using calls and text messages sent from contraband cellphones.

Knighten is serving a 90-year prison sentence for killing Kansas corrections officer Mark Avery, who died from head injuries he suffered during a fight in the Lansing Correctional Facility prison recreation building on May 22, 1993.

Hill and Ponds are among 24 people charged in a federal indictment in the drug ring.

The 55-count indictment, filed Feb. 26 in federal court in Wichita, describes Ponds — who also goes by “Wack” — as one of Knighten’s “main traffickers” who took part in the methamphetamine-dealing conspiracy and was involved in maintaining a stash house at 2548 N. Somerset in Wichita.

The indictment accuses Hill of having a role in the marijuana-, heroin- and cocaine-dealing conspiracies.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Hill or Ponds can call the FBI Wichita office at 316-262-0031, Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.