Defendants sentenced in methamphetamine, money laundering case

The final defendant in a multi-person indictment was sentenced to federal prison recently, bringing to close an investigation into a drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the Forrest City area.

Termaine Ontario Slaughter, 36, of Parkin, was sentenced last week to 90 months in prison with five years of supervised release.

Slaughter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He was the fourth and final defendant to be sentenced from an indictment filed in June 2018. Three of the defendants, who all pleaded guilty to the charges in November last year, were sentenced to prison, including Elliott Davis, 41, of Colt, and Demario Smith, 40, of Southaven, Miss. The fourth defendant, Montana Smith, 45, of Parkin, pleaded to guilty to misprision of a felony and was sentenced to five years probation in June.

Davis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 51 months in prison in June. Demario Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in November, and in May, was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

“Our office and our federal partners will use every resource available to dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking organizations in Arkansas,” said Jonathan D. Ross, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “In this case, we tracked the money, and it led us to straight to criminals who were trying to poison our communities. As these drug traffickers learned, if you choose this line of work, enjoy the money while you can, because it won’t last nearly as long as your prison sentence.”

Beginning in 2014 and continuing through 2018, Slaughter, Demario Smith, Elliott Davis, Montana Smith and others were involved in the distribution of methamphetamine in the Forrest City area.

Slaughter and Demario Smith used drug proceeds to fund a trucking business called Prudent Transport and a rental property business called Upscale Properties. Evidence showed that Slaughter and his associates imported methamphetamine from the Dallas area using couriers who rode the Megabus from Memphis to Dallas and back. The organization also imported methamphetamine from California using the United States mail and other mailing services, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

An extensive analysis of records from the trucking business and rental properties showed that from 2013-17 Slaughter’s personal and

business accounts had $733,811 in deposits coming from unidentified sources. Analysis showed that there were $877,359.60 in cash expenditures on vehicles and other items that did not come from the accounts, including the purchase of tractor trailers for the trucking business. Bank records revealed that cash deposits in amounts under $10,000 were systematically made at bank branches in Memphis, Mississippi and Arkansas, with corresponding amounts of cash being withdrawn from other bank locations on the same date or close in time.

“This investigation is an extraordinary example of thorough and methodical financial exploitation in order to disrupt and dismantle the financial infrastructure of these methamphetamine drug trafficking organizations,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jarad Harper said. “The DEA will relentlessly pursue, exploit and seize these illicit assets drug traffickers intentionally and nefariously conceal to circumvent reporting requirements. Working with all of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to combine our resources in order to identify these ill-gotten funds used to facilitate drug trafficking and violent crime in our region. By depleting these drug traffickers of their proceeds and eliminating their ability to continue distributing this poison in Arkansas and beyond, we are saving lives.”

“The defendants in this case created a drug distribution and money laundering enterprise that spread methamphetamine throughout Eastern Arkansas, and beyond,” stated Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus, Jr., IRS-Criminal Investigation, Dallas Field Office. “The IRS special agents used their financial expertise to trace the profits of this criminal activity through numerous bank accounts across multiple states. I commend my agents for effectively shutting down this devastating pipeline of poison into Eastern Arkansas and the surrounding communities.”

During his sentencing hearing, Slaughter also agreed to forfeit numerous firearms, five vehicles, including four over-theroad trucks used by Prudent Transport and a Dodge Challenger.

The case was primarily investigated by the DEA-Little Rock Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation, along with assistance from the Little Rock Police Department.