A Phelps County deputy pulled over a minivan with New York license plates on Interstate 44 at the 183-mile marker on October 20, setting off a case that prosecutors say involved a 31-year-old Detroit man using two teenage girls as drug mules. Inside the vehicle were Damona Darnell-Cedric Neal and two 16-year-old girls, according to court documents described in the case.
Neal could not answer deputies' questions about where he was going or where he had been, according to KRCG. One of the two girls in the minivan told deputies the group was headed to California to buy drugs. Prosecutors allege Neal drove the girls across Phelps County with the intent of using them as drug mules.
Court documents reportedly detailed how the plan was supposed to work once the group reached California. The girls planned to body-carry the drugs back to Michigan, meaning they intended to conceal the narcotics in their body cavities for the return trip, per the same account.
Troubling Details Emerge About the Teens
The case took a darker turn once investigators dug into the backgrounds of the two girls found in the van. One girl was identified in court documents as a possible victim of four separate sex-trafficking operations currently under investigation by the FBI. The second girl was reported to be a runaway, the station noted.
Those details, still unconfirmed independently beyond what's attributed to court documents and deputies, add a layer of urgency to a case that began as a routine highway stop. Neither Neal nor an attorney representing him has publicly responded to the allegations.
Conspiracy Charge Carries Steep Exposure
Prosecutors charged Neal with conspiracy to commit a Class A, B, or C felony, or an unclassified felony exceeding ten years, according to the report. Under Missouri law, a conspiracy charge covers a continuing course of conduct that terminates only when the underlying offense is carried out or when the agreement is abandoned by the people involved, according to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes.
Neal was being held in the Phelps County Jail without bond as the case moves forward, the outlet reported. No additional hearing dates, plea information, or updated custody status have been made available.
Not the First I-44 Drug Case in Phelps County
This isn't the only drug-related stop to come out of that stretch of interstate in recent memory. Back in January 2025, Phelps County deputies made a traffic stop on Interstate 44 in St. James as part of an undercover narcotics investigation, turning up 129 fentanyl capsules and 2.5 grams of methamphetamine. That stop led to the arrests of Chase W. Arthur, 26, of Edgar Springs, and Lindsey K. Martin, 26, of St. James, who were charged with first-degree drug trafficking or attempt along with two counts of possession of a controlled substance. The single earlier case doesn't establish a pattern along the corridor, but it shows Phelps County deputies have intercepted significant drug activity on I-44 before.
