NLR man gets 18 month-term for role in steroid ring

A North Little Rock man who pleaded guilty to being at the center of a steroid trafficking ring was sentenced by a federal judge in Little Rock on Thursday to 18 months in prison.

Joseph Steven Petersen was one of 14 people indicted in a conspiracy that was based in Central Arkansas but had participants in California, West Virginia and the Chinese mainland. To date, 10 of those indicted, including Petersen, have been sentenced, two are awaiting sentencing, and two are considered fugitives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Gardner said that Petersen “was at the apex” of what she called “a large scale criminal enterprise” that distributed anabolic steroids through an online network with international reach.

Petersen’s attorney, Michael Kaiser of Little Rock, argued for leniency, saying that his client “is a true firsttime offender.”

“This isn’t someone with stuff from 30 years ago that doesn’t count under the guidelines,” Kaiser told U.S. District Judge Brian Miller. “He has no criminal history whatsoever.”

Kaiser said his client had cooperated with authorities after his arrest and had helped to locate all of the outstanding product that could be found in storage prior to shipment as well as testifying in August at the trial of co-defendant Sarah Chezahrae Goforth. Goforth — the only defendant to go to trial — was found guilty by a jury following the two-day trial and was sentenced to 21 months in prison last month.

The conspiracy came to light when the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Little Rock office received information that Petersen was receiving and re-shipping anabolic steroids. They discovered he was

working with a Little Rock man, Michael Glen Davis, as well as six co-defendants located in West Virginia and four in California.

Davis was sentenced to time served for his part in the conspiracy.

“He has cooperated from the jump,” Kaiser said of Petersen. “He assisted in recovering essentially all of the controlled substances that were still out in the field. He agreed to forfeitures of virtually everything that was associated with these illicit activities and has cooperated as completely as one can in this situation.”

During Goforth’s trial, Petersen, a decorated Army veteran, testified that he was diagnosed with low testosterone when he was 23 and began receiving weekly treatments. He said those began to be more of an inconvenience, prompting him to learn how to produce his own supply of testosterone supplements, which are type of anabolic steroid. He testified that what began as a way to make his own supplements gained attention in local fitness circles and eventually grew into a business that operated much like a legitimate one.

“No dark web,” Petersen testified at the trial. “Nothing scary.”

Kaiser argued that sending Petersen to prison would create a disparity in sentencing with his co-defendants, all of whom have been sentenced but one — Goforth — received either probation and community service or time served in pre-trial detention.

“Mr. Petersen knows he will have to face the music and do his time in this case,” Kaiser said. “And he will likely be the only person in this case that accepted responsibility who will be imprisoned.”

Miller said he has generally taken a hard line on drug trafficking, but steroids — noting this is his first steroid case — have not been as alarming in his view.

“I lived in the 80s in California,” Miller said. “I was in the military in Long Beach and drive-by shootings all day every day. The drugs were out there and you had places where you literally could not go. It was after they started locking folks up that the streets got safer.”

Regarding steroids, he said to Gardner, “I guess you’ve probably felt it through the course of this case that I just haven’t viewed that the same way I have crack cocaine or heroin.”

Since Petersen was the manager of the conspiracy, Miller said, some consequence was necessary.

“But I haven’t figured out what that consequence is,” he said. “I’m still trying to figure out, is 18 months a fair sentence?”

Petersen was facing a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, with a range of18 1/2 to 23 months recommended by U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Gardner argued that Petersen’s position at the “apex” of the conspiracy placed greater culpability on him.

“You have to also look at this as a large-scale criminal enterprise,” she said. “There was lots of money to be made here, and there were lots of people involved.”

Gardner said she is planning to ask for prison time for at least one of the remaining defendants, including an “individual who hasn’t been able to abide by release conditions.”

Gardner was referring to Allen Mitchell Gutierrez, who is out on bond awaiting sentencing on his guilty plea but has had a motion filed to revoke his bond after testing positive for drug use multiple times.

Co-defendant Austin Stone of West Virginia is scheduled for sentencing on April 6.

Co-defendants Joshua Thrush, Sylvia Craft, Jessica Clark, Nate Kuhn and Ethan Persinger of West Virginia and Eric Gunderson and Lauren Tancik of California have all been sentenced to three years’ probation and 120 hours of community service. Gunderson was also fined $1,000.

Two other defendants, Michael Reed “Purple Panda” Jordan and his wife, known to authorities only as “Vera” or “Vanna,” have been fugitives since December 2020, according to court documents. Both are believed to currently be living in Shenzen, China, and are beyond the reach of U.S. authorities.

In addition to the prison term, Miller ordered Petersen to serve two years on supervised release after he leaves prison and to pay a $1,000 fine. He allowed him to remain free on bond until April 24, when he is to report to a designated Bureau of Prisons facility.