Man admits running drugs in Helena case

LITTLE ROCK — A Helena-West Helena man admitted in federal court Wednesday to funneling more than 15 kilograms of cocaine from a Mexican drug supplier to dealers in the storied Delta city over a year and a half’s time.

As part of a guilty plea arising from last year’s federal Operation Delta Blues sting, Emmett “Smack” Smith III admitted that he set up at least eight drug-running trips between Helena-West Helena and Dallas, where an unnamed Mexican supplier would provide “kilogram quantities” of cocaine for him to distribute to other dealers. One kilogram is about 2.2 pounds.

The drugs were transported by car, concealed in secret compartments, during trips that took place between June 2008 and December 2009, according to the plea agreement Smith entered into Wednesday before U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr.

Smith’s role as a supplier and his connection to a cocaine source from outside the United States were revealed during a series of hearings held in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas involving the Delta Blues investigation.

In separate appearances before the judge, Smith, who turns 35 on Friday, along with Marcus “Perm” Hughes, 36, and Joseph B. “JB” Hall, 48, each pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana.

In exchange for their guilty pleas, federal prosecutors agreed to drop all other charges against the men, who were named in a 14-count indictment.

The pleas came hours after another man charged in a separate Delta Blues indictment appeared in the federal courthouse in Little Rock.

Kentrell “Ken” Starks, 32, pleaded guilty to a charge of using a telephone in the furtherance of a drug crime and admitted to arranging a drug deal during a call with Sedrick “Binky” Trice, the leader of the largest multistate drug conspiracy cited in the Delta Blues investigation.

The four defendants were among 65 people named in seven federal grand jury indictments unsealed last October alleging public corruption, money laundering and the distribution of large amounts of cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana, among other drugs, in several small Delta communities.

On a single day — Oct. 11, 2011 — more than 700 law enforcement officers descended on small towns in Phillips and Lee counties and began rounding up suspects, including four police officers and a former sheriff’s deputy.

In the months since, a more detailed picture has emerged of how the drug rings operated as several of those indicted have entered into plea agreements with prosecutors.

Wednesday was the first time prosecutors publicly disclosed Smith’s role as a largescale supplier in the purported drug-trafficking ring.

Wearing the pink jumpsuit of a Lonoke County jail inmate, Smith sat quietly as Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Peters detailed how he obtained between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine from the Mexican supplier in the greater Dallas area.

Using two phones tapped by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, Smith contacted the supplier “and negotiated to purchase kilograms of cocaine using coded language,” Peters said.

Smith — and Latara “Tweet” Davis, who is also charged in the indictment — “transported this cocaine back to Helena-West Helena in cars, including those with concealed compartments, or ‘traps.’” That included at least eight occasions in 2009 during which Davis transported “a total of at least 15 kilograms of cocaine from Smith’s Texas cocaine supplier to Smith in Helena-West Helena,” Peters said.

Once the drugs were in Helena-West Helena, Smith distributed them to others, including Hughes, who is cited in the plea agreement. Hughes is recorded in a phone call telling Smith he had customers looking to obtain cocaine. Smith replied he had only “a little junior, a little baby,” meaning he had only 4 or 9 ounces of cocaine.

Drug Enforcement Administration wiretaps also captured a conversation between Davis and Smith on Sept. 22, 2009. During the call, Davis said an Arkansas State Police trooper pulled her over while she drove a white Pontiac Grand Prix. The car had hidden compartments and was routinely used to transport drugs and drug money.

In the conversation with Smith, the two “discussed their good fortune that it had been empty on that particular occasion,” Peters said.

Although mentioned in the plea agreement, Davis’ case is pending.

On Wednesday, Peters said the state trooper had been involved in the federal investigation and was aware that the two were purportedly transporting cocaine.

After Peters detailed the government’s charges, Smith stood composed before Marshall.

“Is all of that true?” the judge asked.

“Yes, sir,” Smith replied.

“Was that your car with the secret place for the drugs and the money?” Marshall asked.

“Yes, sir,” Smith said before the judge accepted his guilty plea.

Smith’s hearing came after that of Hughes, who admitted taking part in the drug transaction detailed in both his and Smith’s plea agreements.

Hall also admitted as part of his plea to obtaining drugs from Smith, then redistributing them.

Sentencing hearings for the men hadn’t been set late Wednesday. Smith faces the longest potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison as part of his plea. Hughes faces a prison term of five to 40 years, and Hall could spend up to 20 years in federal custody, according to their plea agreements.

The three face more severe penalties than Starks, who appeared earlier in the day before U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody. Starks acknowledged his involvement in distributing between 28 and 112 grams (about 1 to 4 ounces) of crack cocaine between October 2009 and October 2010.

Starks, originally identified as “Kendall Starks” in the indictment, also admitted buying and later redistributing 7 grams of crack cocaine from Trice — a drug deal captured by an FBI wiretap.

Starks was charged along with 39 others in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that prosecutors say Trice and Leon Edwards operated in Helena-West Helena. Trice has since pleaded guilty to two federal charges in exchange for a 40-year prison sentence. Edwards’ case is pending.

As part of a plea agreement, federal prosecutors dropped two other felony counts against Starks.

He faces up to four years in federal prison followed by up to three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment, according to his plea agreement.