LR man admits role in fentanyl ring

Defendant indicted with 16 other people in Central Arkansas drug distribution

A Little Rock man indicted as part of a major fentanyl distribution ring pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

Javion “Boobie” Robinson, 29, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Brian Miller. He is one of 17 defendants indicted as part of a drug ring that authorities said was run by Desmond Kelley of Little Rock and was responsible for distributing large quantities of fentanyl in Central Arkansas.

Robinson was escorted into the courtroom by federal marshals from the Pulaski County jail where he has been held since May 19 after a scheduled plea hearing that was canceled when he tested positive for drug use in a pre-hearing drug screen. He was accompanied by his attorney, Austin Porter of Little Rock.

Robinson was indicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and use of a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Givens said that in exchange for Robinson’s guilty plea on the drug conspiracy count, the government had agreed to dismiss the remaining count.

Under U.S. statutes governing Robinson’s offense, he could be subject to a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and 5 years to life on supervised release.

Givens said Robinson was considered a high level member of the conspiracy, acting as a go-between for Kelley to deliver fentanyl to buyers and take the money back to Kelley. He said an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Kelley, Robinson, co-defendant Darrell Walls and others were moving large quantities of narcotics into Central Arkansas.

“The DEA, through the use of confidential informants, made a series of purchases of narcotics from these individuals in 2018 and 2019,” Givens said.

A 30-day wiretap on Walls’ cellphone, Givens said, gave investigators a look at the range of the drug trafficking conspiracy. Investigators determined, he said, that Walls was selling fentanyl to a large customer base, that he was obtaining most of the drugs he sold from Kelley and that Robinson was the main coordinator of the deliveries to Walls.

“Numerous witnesses, including numerous cooperating co-defendants, identified Mr. Robinson as a fentanyl distributor for Kelley who made deliveries on behalf of Kelley,” Givens said. “These witnesses, including Kelley himself, all confirmed that Mr. Robinson was distributing multi-ounce quantities of fentanyl to people. In an interview, Kelley acknowledged that Darrell Walls was his primary customer for fentanyl and that Kelley had at least four to five ounces of fentanyl delivered to Walls every week to two weeks and oftentimes these deliveries were made by Mr. Robinson.”

Givens said Kelley told authorities that when he would take orders for fentanyl, he would often hand off the orders to Robinson to coordinate the deliveries.

“Kelley also said that Robinson would accompany Kelley when he obtained fentanyl for his supply,” Givens said. “Numerous other individuals told law enforcement they had either received fentanyl from Mr. Robinson or had seen Mr. Robinson delivering fentanyl to others.”

Givens said Robinson was responsible for trafficking between 400 grams and 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl.

According to the indictment, that amount placed Robinson in the top tier of the conspiracy along with six others, including Kelley and Walls.

Robinson will be sentenced at a later date after completion of a pre-sentencing investigation to be performed by the U.S. Parole Office. Miller ordered that he remain in custody until he is sentenced.

Robinson was the final defendant of the 17 who were indicted to plead guilty. To date, nine defendants have been sentenced to terms ranging from probation to 10 years, 10 months in prison.