Man gets 30-year term for drug-ring role

A Sweet Home man convicted of drug conspiracy charges earlier this year after a three-day jury trial was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr.

Isaac May, 42, who received the three-decade sentence, was convicted along with James “Richie Rich” Richards of Wrightsville on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine and multiple counts of using a telephone in furtherance of a drug crime.

The two men were part of a drug distribution network run by John Steven Garner, 53, a Los Angeles native living in Hensley when the drug ring was broken up in 2018.

Garner pleaded guilty in September 2019 to conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on July 13, 2020, and is currently serving his sentence in a federal prison in Louisiana.

Garner testified to the inner workings of the drug-trafficking network he set up in Arkansas after decamping from the West Coast to escape the scrutiny of law enforcement there.

Garner testified that he met May through Richards, who acted as an intermediary between the two, but he testified that he soon began dealing with May directly because of the quantities of drugs May was purchasing.

Richards hasn’t been sentenced.

Eight other people indicted in the investigation have also pleaded guilty. Two co-defendants were sentenced to terms of probation and the other six were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12 months and one day to 225 months.

Inmates in the federal Bureau of Prisons are not eligible for parole and must serve a minimum of 85% of their sentences before being deemed eligible for release.