IN COURT | FEDERAL INDICTMENT Five men accused of selling ecstasy, cocaine, meth
A 25-count indictment pending in a Texarkana federal court accuses five men of conspiring to sell ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Fredrico Bradley of Texarkana, Ark., and James Manuel of Houston, Texas, were both arrested Oct. 3 in Texarkana, according to a complaint filed the following day in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.
During a traffic stop at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, agents allegedly found hundreds of Xanax and ecstasy pills in Manuel’s silver Dodge pickup. The bags of pills were allegedly found inside a Honey Bun container in a backpack in Manuel’s truck. Another bag which allegedly contained two ounces of powder cocaine was also discovered along with $9,000 in cash wrapped in rubber bands. Also discovered in the truck was a handwritten document which appeared to be related to drug trafficking, according to testimony from an FBI special agent given during a detention hearing for Manuel in October.
Bradley was arrested a couple of hours after Manuel. Bradley allegedly told investigators he met Manuel at a bar in Miller County, Ark., in March and has been buying drugs from him since. Bradley allegedly claimed that
he purchases two to four ounces of cocaine in a single transaction from Manuel and that he has helped to launder the money he pays Manuel for the drugs. Bradley allegedly told investigators he has made deposits in amounts low enough to escape the attention of banking officials into a Wells Fargo account for Manuel and that he has made numerous wire transfers of money from Western Union and Walmart.
Introduced at Manuel’s detention hearing was a wire transfer receipt recovered from an Oct. 3 search of Bradley’s home on Pearl Street in Texarkana, Ark., sent from Bradley to Manuel’s wife. Also recovered from Bradley’s home was more than $26,000 in cash.
Manuel was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond. Bradley waived the issue of detention and remains in federal custody. Manuel and Bradley were formally indicted by a federal grand jury Oct. 25. A superseding indictment charging Bradley and Manuel and adding three additional defendants was handed down Dec. 5 and unsealed Dec. 18.
The first count of the superseding indictment accuses Bradley, Manuel, Christopher Manning, Larrius Robinson and Ricardo Walker of conspiring to distribute illicit drugs. Counts two and three of the indictment accuse Manuel of possessing ecstasy and cocaine with the intent to distribute. Counts four through seven accuse Manuel of using a communication device, a cell phone, to arrange illegal drug transactions on various dates in September and October.
Counts eight through 11 accuse Bradley of using a cell phone to facilitate a felony drug offense. Count 12 accuses Manning of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Counts 13 through 16 accuse Manning of using a cell phone to facilitate felony drug offenses in July, August and November.
Robinson is accused of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in counts 17 through 19. Counts 20 through 23 accuse Robinson of using a cell phone to facilitate drug offenses during July. Counts 24 and 25 accuse Walker of using a cell phone to facilitate a felony drug offense in July and August.
Manuel is the only defendant who has been released pending trial. All of the defendants have entered pleas of not guilty and their cases are scheduled for trial in January in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.