Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Twelve members of illegal operation sentenced to federal prison terms. Dana Lamus-December 22, 2020. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, the wait list for beds at Harbor House has almost doubled. Fort Smith Transit provides local bus transportation on seven core routes. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. An indictment is merely an accusation. 47 6 thatphanom.techno@gmail.com 042-532028 , 042-532027 bfg ko2 wear indicator; . The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nations illicit drug supply. The southwest border of the United States has been closed since March 21 to prevent the international spread of the virus, thus keeping cartels from trafficking drugs into the country. This OCDETF operation is a joint investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Fort Smith Police Department, the Crawford County Sheriffs Office, the Logan County Sheriffs Office, the Sebastian County Sheriffs Office, the Greenwood Police Department, the Paris Police Department and the Arkansas State Police. And drug users in the region for a time paid even more for their fix as cartels were prohibited from trafficking their substances into the United States. fort smith, ar drug arrests. Fax: (479) 784-1580. Smith said members of his team didnt execute as many search warrants at the beginning of the pandemic. "These violent offenders not only sold large quantities of methamphetamine, but also used firearms and committed acts of violence in furtherance of their crimes," Byerley said. Prior he has done stretches in the ADC for theft by receiving and residential burglary out of Sebastian County from all the way back in 2014. The 2020 Drug Enforcement Administration National Drug Threat Assessment said the number of drug overdose deaths that could be attributed to synthetic opioids other than methadone, such as. 01/23/2023. At the end of the day, if we dont get up and go back to work, who takes care of everybody else? Mounts said. Perez-Echeverria two days later allegedly conducted a similar transaction with Rodriguez and Pyles. Perez-Echeverria is also accused of possessing a firearm in relation to his drug activity, the indictment reads. A federal grand jury returned an indictment in August charging multiple people in the Fort Smith area with a "large-scale, multi-state drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy," the release states. Any time we can take folks off the street that are cartel-connected, thats always going to make your community safer, said Sebastian County Sheriffs Capt. Investigation spanned more than year by Thomas Saccente | September 14, 2020 at 3:00 a High near 75F Find latests mugshots and bookings from Greenwood and other local cities 679 679. Included in that have been at least six parole revocation arrests. An arrest warrant represents a finding of probable cause. Fort Smith, ARKANSAS - According to the statement, two people pleaded guilty in court to excavating and damaging archaeological resources. Any time we advocate for not using drugs or staying away, we do it, but I dont know what the answer is, he said. He said COVID-19, which has forced people into social isolation and uncertainty about the future, has likely contributed to this significant increase. The indictment included fifteen counts, all of which involved the distribution of methamphetamine or laundering of money earned from the distribution of methamphetamine. An indictment is merely an accusation. But COVID-19 has made their fight even tougher. The defendants who were arrested today will be scheduled to appear in the United States District in Fort Smith before United States Magistrate Judge Mark Ford in the coming days. [8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.6 square miles (167 km 2 ), of which 61.7 square miles (160 km 2) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km 2) (6.3%) is water. A lock ( Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Carter is prosecuting the case for the Western District of Arkansas. And he only mans one truck in three to four shifts in that time. Around 6 a.m. 70 officers from multiple agencies went to execute 30 narcotic related search warrants in Dewitt, Stuttgart and Gillett. They allegedly dealt 280 grams of meth in the three counties as they resided on both sides of the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line, according to court and arrest records. FORT SMITH, Ark. 414 Parker Avenue Like narcotics investigators and paramedics, Coats and others at Harbor House have seen drug addiction, and thus intakes, spike in the area. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Carter is prosecuting the case for the Western District of Arkansas. 2023. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The Drug Task Force has since established social distancing and personal protective equipment protocols to ensure they can continue their work. The defendants 14 of whom were arrested Thursday in the Western District of Arkansas' Operation . Main Office: In August 2020, a federal grand jury returned an Indictment charging several individuals in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area with a large-scale, multi-state drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. Mathews was arrested in August of 2020 and charged with a total of three drug-related violations including possession with purpose to deliver meth or cocaine, and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. Measures like prohibited gathering in social spaces from mid-March to the beginning of May also contributed to drug addiction, Smith said. Arkansas State Police. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The indictments and arrests in this case were only made possible due to the unprecedented cooperation between Federal, State and Local Agencies.. fort smith, ar drug arrests. If people are locked up in their house, theyre going to get more depressed, theyre going to turn to more alternative measures to take care of that depression. Cartels are commonly at the top of the supply chain for local drug dealing operations, according to 12th and 21st District Drug Task Force Director Paul Smith. Work Fort Smith Director Miles Crawford in April said widespread joblessness is a predicting factor in widespread drug abuse. These arrests are for a variety of drugs ranging from marijuana to meth and cocaine. Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma's local news leader! The region was already ravaged by drug addiction. Since that arrest in August of 2020, Matthews has chalked up at least three more felony arrest, a number of which came in the 15th Judicial District in Scott County. Example video title will go here for this video. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nations illicit drug supply. Search arrest records and find latests mugshots and bookings for Misdemeanors and Felonies. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The indictment for the 18 defendants alleges all of them at least as early as Jan. 1, 2019, to July 28, 2020, conspired with each other and with others known and unknown to the Grand Jury to distribute a substance containing meth. Fort Smith is located at 35227N 942355W (35.368691, 94.398737). Total Annual Drug Arrests In The United States By Offense Type. Sebastian County Circuit Court. A person is presumed innocent unless or until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Recently, 14 of those. He said they encourage people not to use drugs whenever they can, especially when theyre reaching an age where they may start using. This OCDETF operation is a joint investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Fort Smith Police Department, the Crawford County Sheriffs Office, the Logan County Sheriffs Office, the Sebastian County Sheriffs Office, the Greenwood Police Department, the Paris Police Department and the Arkansas State Police. Im in a different part of the state, and youre the only people who are taking people right now, he said. 01/24/2023. Nicholas Nico Moron-Rivera age 29, Fort Smith, Arkansas plead guilty on September 16, 2021 to Distribution of Methamphetamine. During the Civil War, the North met the South here with . Narcotics investigators in the region saw the price of drugs level off in May and then fall back down to normal levels in June and July as cartels found effective ways to push drugs into the states. Local News FSPS will temporarily rotate to online learning . darden anniversary pay 2020; beowulf energy paul prager net worth; power county press police log; dave hakstol contract. Its another obstacle theyll have to overcome, but theyre motivated to overcome for sure, Coats said. 202300706. Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma's local news leader! Perform a free Sebastian County, AR public arrest records search, including current & recent arrests, arrest inquiries, warrants, reports, logs, and mugshots. Twenty-two defendants federally accused of drug trafficking in Sebastian, Crawford and Logan counties allegedly pushed at least more than half a pound of methamphetamine onto the streets of the three counties since the beginning of 2019. This is up from a wait time that under normal circumstances can stretch up to two months, Coats said. Heavener, Oklahoma sentenced October 21, 2021 to 210 months BOP, $100 special assessment, $14,653.19 in restitution to the DEA for methamphetamine laboratory cleanup/abatement for Conspiracy to Distribute More Than Five-Hundred (500) Grams of a Mixture or Substance Containing Methamphetamine. Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Kansas Louisiana Maine Maryland Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma . Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. 2020: 2019: 2018: 2015: 2010: Table: Drug Arrest Data for 2010-2020 Table: Total Annual Arrests in the US by Year and Type of Offense FBI Uniform Crime Report. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Fort Smith, Arkansas David Clay Fowlkes, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Brad L. Byerley, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Diane L. Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, announced that 14 individuals were arrested today by federal, state, and local law enforcement as part of a roundup following an over year-long investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in Sebastian, Crawford, and Logan Counties in Arkansas. This Indictment is directly related to a previous Indictment issued in July 2020, in which four (4) additional defendants were charged in a similar methamphetamine distribution scheme. Additionally, the operation led investigators to Wilkes County in June 2020 and the seizure of more than 200 pounds of methamphetamine and the arrest of three individuals. FORT SMITH (KFSM) Seventeen people have been arrested for various drug-related charges. In the event you observe activities that could be linked to illegal drug activity, you are encouraged to contact the Narcotics Detectives (479) 709-5103. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Career criminal picks up an additional 12-years on drug charges from 2020 arrest. The individuals arrested today are: Manuel Chuy De Jesus Perez-Echeverria, Humberto Beto Acosta-Martinez, Julio Ivan Enriquez-Munoz, Alberto Ledesma, Efrain Maciel-Martinez, Traye Everett Martin, Julie Ann Pyles, Ezequiel Rodriguez, Paula Lynne Rider, Ronal Salinas, Benjamin Ben Valdez, Amber Renee Vance, Emily Elizabeth Williams, and Michael Dean Wilson. Fares are $1.25. February 22, 2023. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. So to say the pandemic doesnt have anything to do with it would be kind of nave, Mounts said. We still have a person there who were not going to let die no matter what, Mounts said. Thats the facts; thats just who we are. MENU MENU. 901 S. B Street, Suite 103 Fort Smith, AR 72901 Note: Requests for corrections will not be accepted by telephone. The search warrants the Drug Task Force typically executes result in the arrest of multiple drug dealers and the seizure of large quantities of drugs that would otherwise be distributed on the streets of Fort Smith and the surrounding areas. Because of persistent and collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies in the area, a major supplier of methamphetamine to this region of Arkansas is out of business, said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley. FORT SMITH -- Fourteen people were arrested by federal, state and local law enforcement in connection with alleged drug distribution and money laundering in western Arkansas on Thursday. Their indictment was related to a similar previous indictment from which defendants Emmanual Miranda, Israel Miranda-Zapata, Brenda Golden Day and Alexis Tirado were arrested on Aug. 5. Visit Northwest Arkansas' most reliable source for breaking news. The Narcotic Unit investigates a variety of illegal drug activities. Perform a free Fort Smith, AR public arrest records search, including current & recent arrests, arrest inquiries, warrants, reports, logs, and mugshots. . Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. Ive ran into a couple of people who have overdosed over the past few days, most of them accidentally, Mounts said. "The indictments and arrests in this case were only made possible due to the unprecedented cooperation between federal, state and local agencies.". Crime in the United States 2020 - Arrests and Arrest Table: Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations.Washington, DC: US Dept. He was returned to Sebastian Country one day prior to his sentencing on Friday. Wright told KATV they were able to arrest 22 out of the 30 . 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