Testimony opens in LR drug-trafficking trial

Outlining the government’s case for the jury, Fields described a traffic stop on April 14, 2022, that formed much of the basis for the drug trafficking and firearms counts against Gladney.

Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of an Arkansas-born rapper who is one of 35 people named in an indictment accused of trafficking drugs on behalf of one of two rival street gangs in Central Arkansas.

Freddie Gladney III, who performs under the stage name, “Bankroll Freddie,” was indicted in November 2022 on multiple drug and firearms counts, including one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, three counts of making false statements to obtain a firearm, two counts of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, one count of possession of machine guns and one count of use of a communications facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Julie Peters, Amanda Fields and Stephen Reese Lancaster and is being presided over by U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr.

On Tuesday, Gladney, dressed in street clothes and free of shackles or leg irons, was escorted into the courtroom and seated with his attorneys, Bobby Digby II and Mack Ivy of Benton. Following a pre-trial conference and jury selection, a jury of seven women, four men and two alternates was seated and the trial got underway, first with Moody’s preliminary instructions to the jury, then with opening statements by Fields and Digby.

Prior to the the opening statements, Moody — noting that the courtroom was nearly packed with Gladney’s supporters on one side of the gallery and with attorneys, court staff and law enforcement on the other — ordered that seating during the trial would be on a “first come first served basis,” and that once the courtroom is filled to capacity it is to be locked to anyone attempting to enter.

“The fact that you’re five minutes late means you probably won’t be able to get in until the next break,” Moody said.

The judge also warned that anyone creating a disruption during the trial would be removed from the courtroom.

Outlining the government’s case for the jury, Fields described a traffic stop on April 14, 2022, that formed much of the basis for the drug trafficking and firearms counts against Gladney. During that stop by Arkansas State Police Sgt. Spencer Morris, Fields said, approximately 20 pounds of marijuana was discovered in a duffel bag in the pickup Gladney was driving, as well as a Polymer 80 9mm pistol modeled after a Glock pistol that was missing its back plate, a Micro Draco AK-47 style pistol, numerous rounds of 9mm, .40 caliber and 7.62 caliber ammunition, and $33,362 in cash and a large quantity of gold and diamond jewelry.

Of the Polymer 80 pistol with the missing back plate, Fields said that Morris knew he was also looking for the back plate, “or something to replace it called a Glock switch,” which Fields said is a switch designed for Glock pistols that makes them capable of full-automatic fire. She said it is the Glock switch that formed the basis for the machine gun possession count.

Fields told jurors they would hear from several law enforcement officers who would provide testimony about wiretap evidence and other incriminating evidence gathered over the course of the investigation that would put Gladney at the center of drug trafficking activities along with his father, Freddie Gladney Jr.; two brothers, Brandon Kingsley Robinson, 35, of Marianna, and Jamal Daniels, 29, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and others named in the indictment. All of Gladney’s co-defendants, including his father and brothers, have entered into plea agreements with the government or have been dismissed from the indictment.

Digby, describing Gladney as, “an up and coming rap artist,” said Gladney bought and sold marijuana among a small circle of friends and said he surrounded himself with people to help maintain his rap persona. He derided the wiretap evidence as “trash talk — people bragging to each other,” and said no evidence exists to suggest that Gladney had ever used a gun in connection with selling drugs.

Testimony began with Morris describing the April 14, 2022, traffic stop on Interstate 55 near Marion, in which Morris said Gladney caught his attention because the Chevrolet Silverado pickup he was driving was traveling 83 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour speed zone. Morris said as he approached the passenger side of the pickup he could smell a strong odor of marijuana.

In the courtroom, Fields reached into one of two evidence boxes containing the bags of marijuana, two of which were vacuum sealed and the rest loosely bundled, and pulled out several bags for the jury to view. As she did so, the pungent aroma of raw marijuana began to permeate the courtroom.

Morris testified that after he placed Gladney in the rear of his patrol car with his hands cuffed behind his back, a camera monitoring the back seat picked up Gladney as he twisted around as though trying to reach something. After reviewing the video, he said, he searched the back seat of his patrol car and discovered a Glock switch that had been concealed between the seat cushions.

Testimony resumes Wednesday morning as the government continues putting on its case.