Sweeps in LR, NLR net 25 suspects in drug plot
Eight federal indictments naming 61 defendants were unsealed Wednesday after law enforcement officers arrested about half of the accused in early-morning roundups in Little Rock and North Little Rock on charges involving heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, guns and suspected drug money.
While 50 of those indicted are from Little Rock, the other Arkansans charged are from Searcy, Springdale, Benton, Jacksonville, Pine Bluff and North Little Rock.
The 25 people arrested Wednesday joined 27 who were already in custody, resulting in 52 of the 61 defendants being behind bars. The U.S. attorney’s office said Wednesday afternoon that nine people, including a 54-year-old man from El Paso, Texas, remained at large. That man, Hector Soto, is the only out-of-stater charged.
The largest indictment, which names 33 people facing 67 charges altogether, describes Aaron “Black” Clark, 35, of 207 Cherry bark Drive in the Woodcreek neighborhood off Chenal Parkway in
Little Rock as the leader of two conspiracies — one focused on heroin distribution, the other on cocaine distribution.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at Clark’s home in November, seizing more than $100,000 in cash and jewelry, 170 grams (more than a third of a pound) of heroin, a marijuana growing operation and six guns, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Clark is accused of leading the conspiracies in the Eastern District of Arkansas between December 2015 and May of this year. He is facing seven charges, including two gun charges. The indictment notes that he has two 2003 convictions — one a federal cocaine-distribution conviction from Texas, and the other for manufacturing, delivery and possession of marijuana in Faulkner County.
The execution of arrest warrants Wednesday went smoothly and stemmed from an 18-month investigation into several drug-trafficking organizations by the FBI and the Little Rock and North Little Rock police departments, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris and the top officers of each agency.
In late 2015, the FBI and the North Little Rock Police Department began investigating the drug-trafficking activities of certain North Little Rock gangs, according to a joint news release. It says investigators soon learned the gangs’ drug supply came from people in Little Rock.
Investigative tactics — including making controlled purchases of drugs, using phone wiretaps and executing search warrants — led the FBI and the Little Rock Police Department to identify multiple sources for the drugs and more than 60 suspects, the release said.
Throughout the investigation, agents seized more than 2 kilograms (more than 4½ pounds) of cocaine, 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin, and more than a pound each of crack cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as 8 ounces of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid painkiller more potent than morphine.
The seizures were made through more than 25 controlled purchases — drug buys using confidential informants — and the execution of multiple search warrants.
Agents also reported seizing 25 guns and about $241,000 in suspected drug proceeds.
“Targeting violent drug dealers remains a priority for my office, as well as for all law enforcement agencies in central Arkansas,” Harris said in a prepared statement. “Drugs continue to be a prime source of crime and violence in our city, and taking these criminals off the streets has made Little Rock a safer place.”
“Today’s arrests show our collective resolve to attack and dismantle these violent drug organizations that destroy our communities and generate fear in its citizens,” said Diane Upchurch, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Little Rock field office.
Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner and North Little Rock Police Chief Mike Davis both weighed in as well, crediting their departments’ collaboration with the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office through the national Violence Reduction Network initiative.
Davis said an investigation his department began into the sale of cocaine revealed the sale of methamphetamine, heroin and illegal weapons in central Arkansas and prompted the department to contact the FBI for assistance.
“We are grateful for the outcome, and will continue to work with federal agencies to reduce violence in our community and to take illegal drugs and weapons off the street,” he said in a prepared statement.
The Arkansas State Police, the National Guard and the Pulaski County sheriff’s office each provided manpower and logistical support during what the U.S. attorney’s office called the “early-morning takedown” Wednesday.
“The efforts of a multijurisdictional team paid off today,” said Col. Bill Bryant, director of the state police.
“The National Guard stands shoulder to shoulder in supporting law enforcement to contain the heroin epidemic facing our communities and state,” National Guard Lt. Col. Chuck Vereen said.
The FBI’s Met Rock Task Force, which includes officers from many agencies, was credited for conducting the primary investigation. Little Rock officers were credited for being familiar with many of the suspected players in the targeted drug-trafficking organizations.
The people arrested Wednesday are expected to make their initial appearances in federal court in Little Rock on Friday, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tricia Harris. Harris will hold hearings for those who were already in custody next Wednesday.
Any defendants convicted of conspiring to distribute more than 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin or more than 5 kilograms (about 11 pounds) of cocaine face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, where parole isn’t available. Use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug-trafficking crime is punishable by five years to life in prison, with the sentence being served consecutively to any other charge.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office’s synopsis of all eight indictments, the youngest person charged is 21 and the oldest is 68, with most of the defendants in their 30s and many in their 40s.
“Today’s arrests show our collective resolve to attack and dismantle these violent drug organizations that destroy our communities and generate fear in its citizens.”
— Diane Upchurch, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Little Rock field office