Jonesboro man faces drug, gun charges
Federal indictment tied to 2019 search added to pending Arkansas cases
A Jonesboro man facing multiple drug charges in Craighead County faces additional legal trouble after his arraignment Tuesday in federal court on drug and firearms charges that were laid out by a grand jury in an indictment handed up last week.
Marlon Beal, 30, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia S. Harris Tuesday morning. The indictment accuses Beal of being a felon in possession of a firearm; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of firearms in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Beal faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bart Dickinson asked that Beal remain in custody while his case is adjudicated.
Harris appointed Little Rock attorney Latrece Gray to represent Beal. Gray entered a plea of innocent for Beal and requested a bond hearing, which Harris said will be scheduled in coming days.
Beal faces federal charges stemming from an arrest Oct. 9, 2019, when investigators with the Street Crimes Unit in Jonesboro discovered drugs, drug paraphernalia and guns during a search of his apartment. The search resulted in eight felony charges being filed against Beal by the state, including simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of firearms by certain persons, drug trafficking and theft by receiving.
During the search, investigators confiscated 3.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 3.1 pounds of marijuana, 125 suspected ecstasy tablets, three suspected hydrocodone tablets, a rifle and four handguns, one of which had been reported stolen out of Bartlett, Tenn.
Beal’s legal troubles are compounded by additional drug charges pending in state court stemming from two other arrests by Jonesboro police, according to court records, as well as a criminal history dating to 2009.
On April 3, 2019, investigators with the Jonesboro Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit discovered marijuana, ecstasy pills, alprazolam (Xanax) pills, methamphetamine, crack cocaine and digital scales during a search of Beal’s vehicle and his residence. Beal was charged with six felony drug counts in connection with that incident.
On Feb. 19, 2020, Beal was arrested by Jonesboro police after a chase in a vehicle and on foot and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, tampering with physical evidence, fleeing and numerous traffic violations.
Court records from Craighead County show Beal is scheduled to be tried April 5 in Craighead County Circuit Court on the charges stemming from those three arrests.
On April 12, 2009, Beal was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. On Nov. 16, 2009, he pleaded guilty in Craighead County Circuit Court and was sentenced to 42 months in the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Beal was arrested April 24, 2011, and charged with possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, and on Aug. 20, 2012, he was arrested and charged with delivery of a controlled substance. Beal pleaded guilty Jan. 4, 2013, to the two charges in exchange for all other charges relating to the two arrests being dropped. He was sentenced to eight years in the Department of Correction.