4 men get prison time for roles in drug ring
29 people in case await sentencing
Four Pope County residents indicted as part of a drug trafficking ring directed by a violent white supremacist gang were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms ranging from 65 months to 15 years for their parts in the conspiracy.
In four separate hearings Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Brian Miller, three defendants were sentenced on drug conspiracy charges and a fourth was sentenced for violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Timothy Ferguson, 39, of Russellville pleaded guilty in November 2020 to one count of conspiracy to violate RICO, two counts of kidnapping in aid of racketeering, one count of assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, one count of maiming in aid of racketeering and one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
Under U.S. sentencing statutes, Ferguson could have been sentenced to life in prison on four of the counts against him. Under U.S. sentencing guidelines, he faced 30 years to life in prison but after a motion for a downward departure of 50 percent below the minimum guideline sentence by Assistant U.S. Attorney Liza Jane Brown, Miller sentenced Ferguson to 15 years in prison.
Ferguson, who was a member of the New Aryan Empire, a white supremacist gang that began as a prison gang in the 1990s, was indicted on charges that he assisted in the kidnapping and beating of two Pope County residents who were supposed to testify in court against another New Aryan Empire member in connection with a shooting incident.
Miller also sentenced Ferguson to five years on supervised release after his prison term, ordered him to seek drug and mental health treatment while in prison and upon his release, and credited Ferguson for 66 months spent in federal custody since his arrest.
Christopher Helms, 38, of Dardanelle was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. In September 2020, Helms pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Robert Chandler, 43, of Dover was sentenced to 65 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Chandler pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in July 2020.
Heath Kizer, 37, of Atkins was sentenced to 96 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Kizer pleaded guilty in August 2020 to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Miller granted a motion for a downward variance of 20 percent off the statutory minimum sentence of 10 years Kizer was facing for his part of the conspiracy. That motion was entered by Brown before the start of the hearing.
That 10-year minimum sentence was in spite of a guideline sentencing range of 70 to 87 months calculated by the U.S. Probation Office in its pre-sentence report.
Kizer’s attorney, Omar Greene II of Little Rock, requested a further downward variance to the low end of the guideline range, citing Kizer’s lack of prior criminal history, his successful completion of drug rehabilitation and his close family ties. At the hearing, Kizer’s parents, step-parents, sister, son, aunt and uncle, pastor and others attended the hearing in support.
“Mr. Greene’s motion is that since the government moved to go below the mandatory minimum that I can go even lower,” Miller said. “But the 8th Circuit has ruled that I cannot go below the government’s motion because Mr. Kizer is not safety-valve eligible.”
Brown opposed any further reduction, saying Kizer was acquiring methamphetamine in quarter-pound and half-pound quantities that he repackaged for sale.
“He was wreaking havoc on the town of Russellville and the communities that were surrounding it,” Brown said. “When they did a search warrant they located 36 guns and some more methamphetamine in his house. No, he doesn’t have any criminal history, but there have to be consequences for your actions. He chose to acquire methamphetamine. He chose to sell methamphetamine. Those are his choices, and for those reasons I think a 96-month sentence is appropriate.”
Miller allowed Kizer, who has been out of jail on pre-trial release, to remain free until he is designated to a Bureau of Prisons facility and ordered to report.
So far, 25 of the 55 defendants in the case have been sentenced with those sentences ranging from 35 years to 36 months in prison. One defendant was sentenced to time served.
Of the remaining 30 defendants, 28 have entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing and one, Marcus Millsap, was found guilty by a jury last year on racketeering and drug conspiracy charges and is awaiting sentencing.
A final defendant, Troy Loadholdt, has not been seen since he was indicted in 2017 and is considered to be a fugitive.