A federal judge ordered lengthy prison terms Tuesday for two upper-level members of Texarkana drug-trafficking operations busted up by federal agents in 2011.
In hearings on the Arkansas side of the federal building in Texarkana, U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey sentenced Samuel “Sammy” Garrison, 31, to more than 18 years in prison and Gregory “Eggy” Lewis, 34, to 15 years in prison.
Garrison and Lewis, both of Texarkana, were arrested by federal agents as part of a drug-trafficking investigation known as Operation State Line Sweep that became public in October 2011.
On Tuesday, Conner Eldridge, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, said the two sentences were part of a continued effort by his office to prosecute the nearly 70 defendants who were indicted as part of the federal investigation aimed at weeding out dealers who were selling drugs around schools, playgrounds and public housing in Texarkana.
“We continue to believe that targeting drug-trafficking organizations, many selling drugs near schools and housing facilities, is essential for improving Texarkana and other communities,” Eldridge said in a statement. “I applaud the collaborative effort that made the prosecution of this case possible.”
In addition to Garrison and Lewis, Eldridge also announced the sentencing of Marcus “Killer Clown” Sims, who was also arrested as part of the State Line Sweep investigation conducted by the Bi-State Narcotics Task Force - a squad made up of the police departments in Texarkana, Ark., and Texarkana, Texas, the Miller County sheriff ’s office and the FBI.
According to court records, Garrison was sentenced to 220 months in federal prison for leading and organizing a network of cocaine traffickers in Texarkana that was responsible for distributing between 110 pounds and 330 pounds of cocaine.
Garrison made those admissions on March 18 when he pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting in the distribution of cocaine related to brokering a cocaine sale with a government informant.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped three other charges against Garrison. He also was ordered to forfeit to the federal government more than $10,000 in cash, five pieces of jewelry,a 1996 Chevrolet Impala and several pieces of property in Arkansas and Texas.
After Garrison serves his prison sentence, he will serve three years of supervised release.
In Lewis’ case, he was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by six years of supervised release, for managing drug dealers and taking part in selling crack cocaine to a confidential informant near Vera Kilpatrick Elementary School in Texarkana.
Lewis pleaded guilty in March to one count of aiding and abetting in the distribution of crack cocaine within 1000 feet of a public school in exchange for prosecutors dropping five other charges against him. Overall, he admitted to being responsible for distributing between one ounce and four ounces of crack cocaine.
Also Tuesday, Hickey sentenced Sims, 35, of Chidester to about eight years in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release.
Sims, who also goes by “Big Marc,” had earlier pleaded guilty to distributing crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a public housing complex, a charge referring to illicit sales near the Pinehurst Village housing project in Texarkana.
All three men, who were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Quinn, will serve the majority of their sentences because there is no parole in the federal system.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 10/30/2013