El Dorado man sentenced to 15 years for drug trafficking charges

An El Dorado man was sentenced earlier this week to 15 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in the distribution of methamphetamine in Union County

According to a news release from Duane Kees, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Charles “Marty” Permenter, 56, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The news release states that the FBI and FBI Task Force identified Permenter as a source for methamphetamine during an investigation into distribution in Union County. Investigators purchased methamphetamine from Permenter on multiple occasions, using a confidential informant, according to the release, as well as information provided by cooperating sources and law enforcement agencies that showed Permenter “knowingly conspired with co-conspirators and others to distribute more than 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in Union County, Arkansas, and other locations within the Western District of Arkansas.”

Permenter was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2016 and pleaded guilty in March 2017.

The case was investigated by The FBI and the FBI Task Force. Assistant U.S. attorneys Ben Wulff and Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States.