Last of 55 drug-case indictees faces trial

U.S. meth probe cited racketeering

A major racketeering and drug conspiracy case centered in Pope County in 2017 that eventually involved 55 federally indicted defendants will finally wind its way down beginning this week as the last remaining defendant goes on trial in federal court in Little Rock.

Marcus Millsap, 53, of Danvillewas charged in a superseding indictment in connection with activities carried out by the New Aryan Empire, a white-supremacist group that began as a jail gang in Pope County in the early 1990s and eventually spread to the state prison system and out into the “free world.” The group is believed to be responsible for large-scale methamphetamine dealing in Central Arkansas and violent acts, including kidnapping and murder.

To date, 18 defendants in the case have been sentenced to terms ranging from time served to 35 years in prison, 35 have pleaded guilty to charges ranging from failure to report a felony to conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and are awaiting sentencing, and one, Troy Loadholdt, 40, of Russellville, has been a fugitive since 2017. That leaves only Millsap to face a jury.

Millsap is charged with

conspiracy to violate the RICO law, aiding and abetting attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If found guilty, Millsap could face a life sentence in federal prison.

The case began as a drug-trafficking case with 44 people charged in a 20-count indictment handed up by a grand jury on Oct. 3, 2017, after an almost twoyear federal investigation into drug trafficking and gun crimes in Pope and Yell counties. On Feb. 5, 2019, a superseding indictment added 11 more defendants, including Millsap, and 12 more criminal counts, including conspiracy to violate the anti-racketeering law and numerous counts of violence in aid of racketeering connected by attempts to intimidate two witnesses through kidnapping and maiming and the attempted murder of another witness, who was later shot to death.

The case — dubbed “To The Dirt,” after a reference to the slogan used by the Pope County-centered New Aryan Empire, referring to the rule that members must remain in the New Aryan Empire until they die — began in 2016 when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted the Pope County sheriff’s office in a murder investigation that was tied to the group.

Millsap’s attorneys, Lloyd Kitchens of Little Rock and Lee Curry of Monticello, met with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Mazzanti and Liza Jane Brown, and with U.S. District Judge Brian Miller on Thursday for a status conference to iron out remaining details before the beginning of the trial Tuesday.

Although the case has been tied to the New Aryan Empire and violent acts carried out by members of the organization, Millsap’s attorneys objected to Miller’s proposed summary of the indictment that includes acts of kidnapping, maiming and attempted murder carried out by various members and associates of the group. They also objected to any language in the indictment that might infer Millsap is a member of the group.

Miller explained that, typically, at the beginning of a trial he will read through the indictment while making sure the jury understands an indictment is not evidence.

“I’ll painstakingly go through that and explain to them that all the indictment is are the allegations against Mr. Millsap and that the government has the burden of proving whatever is in that indictment,” Miller said. “The reason I do that is just to give the jury some idea of what we’re trying. … Look, he disagrees with all of it. He disagrees that he was a member of the NAE, he disagrees with all of that, but that’s what’s alleged against him.”

“The things that are going to be read to the jury are going to be things … that will give the jury that Marc is a murderer and a kidnapper,” Kitchens said. “He’s not. He’s not alleged to be. No one says he ever did any murder or any kidnapping. Those aren’t even in the universe of what we’re talking about in respect to Mr. Millsap.”

Miller told Millsap’s attorneys to file their objections to his summary of the indictment — which he said he would overrule — to ensure that there would be a record of those objections.

“I’m pretty much going to stick with the summary of the indictment I’ve proposed,” Miller said.

During the hearing, it was revealed that the government had offered Millsap a number of plea agreement offers, the latest being presented on Aug. 11, a Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 11(c) (1)(C) offer that would lock both Millsap and the government into a specific range of punishment that, if rejected by Miller, would permit Millsap to withdraw his guilty plea should he accept the offer. Miller acknowledged that such an offer is unusual and is generally not presented as an option for most criminal defendants.

Recently, Christopher Buber, 35, of Russellville, accepted a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea agreement that would guarantee Buber a sentencing range of 18 years, 4 months to 27 years, 4 months on charges of violent crimes in aid of racketeering, with the U.S. attorney’s office arguing for the high end of the range, provided Miller accepts the plea at time of sentencing. Should Miller reject the plea or attempt to sentence Buber to a longer term of imprisonment than agreed to, Buber would be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea under the provisions of Rule 11(c)(1)(C). Until his plea, Buber had been scheduled to go to trial with Millsap.

Kitchens said all offers had been presented to Millsap with full explanations of his rights and he had rejected all of them, indicating instead that he wished to go to trial.

“Every offer the government has been made has been visited on multiple occasions,” Kitchens said. “I think Mr. Millsap has made an informed decision about how he wants to go forward with this case.”

Reiterating the possible consequences of going to trial, Miller asked Millsap to confirm that he had rejected the offer with full knowledge of what the rejection could subject him to.

“I don’t see how, that…” Millsap began, when Kitchens cut him off.

“Marc, stop talking,” Kitchens said. “Stop talking. You’ve answered the question. You don’t have to say anything else.”

“You don’t have to give me a reason,” Miller interjected. “I’m just trying to make sure it’s been conveyed to you and you are freely saying I don’t want to plead guilty, I want to go to trial. Is that the case?”

“I don’t want to plead guilty,” Millsap responded. “I want to go to trial.”

“I understand,” Miller said. “We have a record and that’s all we need.”

At Mazzanti’s request, Miller ruled that Loadholdt, who has been a fugitive since 2017, will be severed from the trial, enabling prosecutors to try him separately when and if he is located. Loadholdt is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Because he has been a fugitive since the time of the first indictment, Loadholdt has never been arraigned on the charge against him.

“He needs to be severed from the case because obviously, he’s not going to be tried,” Mazzanti said. “They’ve never located or arrested him. … We’re not going to try him in absentia so I think it just makes sense to make it clear for the record that he, in fact, be tried at a later date.”

Jury selection begins at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, after which opening statements from both sides will be presented and the government will then begin to present its case.