Guilty in drug case, Oneida man pleads

The father and co-defendant of an Arkansas rapper appeared in court Thursday to plead guilty to a federal drug conspiracy count, nearly derailing proceedings after he backed out of the plea that morning but later entered a plea in a second hearing held the same afternoon.

Freddie Gladney Jr., father of co-defendants Freddie “Bankroll Freddie” Gladney III, Brandon Kingsley Robinson and Jamal Daniels, was scheduled to enter a plea Thursday morning before U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr., who told him that, without the plea, the matter will go to trial on April 9 as scheduled.

“I want to make you aware that roughly three weeks from now we’re going to try this case and I can’t think of any reason it might be continued absent the death of a witness or something pretty extraordinary,” Moody said.

Gladney Jr., 56, of Oneida, is the lead defendant in a 35-person indictment that grew out of an FBI investigation into drug trafficking and gang violence in Central Arkansas. All of those named in the indictment are believed to be associated with a street gang known as “EBK” — Every Body Killas — that is believed to be responsible for drug trafficking and violence in Arkansas along with a rival gang, known as “Lodi Murder Mobb,” which is the subject of a second drug conspiracy indictment involving an additional 25 people.

Gladney had complained earlier of not receiving adequate information from his attorney, Robert Golden of Little Rock, but by the afternoon said he was satisfied with Golden’s work and wished to move forward.

“Since I’ve been locked up I haven’t had any information on this case,” Gladney complained during the morning hearing. “I’m lost from the beginning and I’ve been in jail 15 months.”

At the morning hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Peters told Gladney that should he reject the plea offer, it would be withdrawn at the end of the day “and will not be made available again.”

Peters said she had met with Gladney previously to present him with a “reverse proffer,” in which she laid out some of the evidence prosecutors planned to bring against Gladney during trial, but she said with time growing short that “at some point we’re in trial prep and can no longer keep the offer open.”

Later that afternoon, after Gladney was returned to the courtroom, Moody questioned him closely regarding his about-face decision on the plea.

“I’m trying to make sure this is your decision,” Moody said. “That you weren’t pressured.”

On Nov. 1, 2022, Gladney was indicted on one count each of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine, being a felon in possession of firearms, and use of a communications device in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Peters said in exchange for his plea on the conspiracy count, the government would ask that the remaining counts be dismissed, leaving Gladney subject to a prison term ranging between 5 and 40 years, a fine of up to $5 million, and a term of supervised release ranging from 4 years to life.

According to Gladney’s plea agreement, a government wiretap on his cell phone in April and May of 2021 intercepted Gladney discussing drug trafficking activities with co-defendants Gladney III, Daniels, Clifford Davis, Angel King, Jennifer Lenair and Mario Nickson. Another wiretap, placed on Gladney III’s phone in May and June of 2021, intercepted Gladney Jr. and his son discussing drug trafficking activities. The plea agreement outlined in detail more than a dozen phone calls between Gladney Jr. and various co-defendants between April 22 and May 25, 2021.

On May 25, 2021, during a search of Gladney III’s Little Rock home and surrounding property, police discovered two firearms in a truck belonging to Gladney Jr.

According to the agreement, Gladney Jr. agreed to forfeit the two 9mm handguns, magazines, and ammunition seized on May 25, 2021, as well as $71,160 in cash that was seized May 30, 2021 after Arkansas State Police pulled Lenair and Gladney Jr. over on a traffic stop.

Moody said a disagreement over whether Gladney Jr. was operating a drug premises during the course of the conspiracy will be decided when Gladney Jr. is sentenced later this year. Gladney has contested that assertion made by federal prosecutors which, if upheld, will result in a two-level sentencing enhancement for him.

“As I understand it and I hope you understand it,” Moody said, “whether or not you maintained a drug premises is something I’m going to decide at your sentencing … you’re not admitting to that … but it’s something that will have to be decided sooner or later and I’ll be the one to decide it.”

Moody said a sentencing hearing will be scheduled following completion and review of a pre-sentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

Currently, of the 35 defendants named in the indictment, four of the defendants — Timothy Parker, L.C. Davis, Kobi Knight, and Mario Nickson — are scheduled to enter pleas in the matter next week. Nineteen defendants, including Gladney Jr., have entered pleas and are now awaiting sentencing.

Twelve defendants — Freddie Gladney III, Jeremy Green, Donald Teague, Eric Avett, Jamal Daniels, Marcus Hughes, Marquis Hunt, Hershel Jones, Joe Morgan III, Donnell Lakeith Reed, Nicholas Rogers, and Michael Williams — are scheduled for trial beginning at 9:15 a.m. on April 9.