Ex-trooper, cousin see drug trial reset

A jury trial that was scheduled for March 4 in a Little Rock federal courtroom for former Arkansas State Police Lt. Sedrick Reed and his cousin, Lamont Johnson, was postponed Thursday until Oct. 7.

U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson set the new trial date after attorney Kim Driggers, who is representing Johnson, filed a notice Wednesday that her client is still undergoing a mental evaluation in Littleton, Colo. Driggers, an assistant federal public defender, noted that the U.S. attorney’s office didn’t object to the postponement.

Reed, 43, and Johnson, 45, both of Little Rock, are accused of selling cocaine that was stolen from the state police evidence room, which Reed supervised.

Reed, who had been with the state police for 18 years when arrested last summer,is accused of taking significant quantifies of drugs from the evidence room and selling them to Johnson, a drug dealer, who in turn sold them to others.

During the execution of a search warrant at Reed’s Winterwood Drive home July 19, agents reported seizing heroin and cocaine, as well as $13,000 hidden behind pictures hanging on walls. They also reported finding a .40-caliber pistol that had been listed as “lost or stolen” by the state police.

Both men face a drug conspiracy charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison without parole, as well as charges of cocaine distribution and possession of a firearm in furtherance ofa drug-trafficking scheme. Reed also faces two other distribution charges, while Johnson, who already had a felony record, also faces separate gun charges.

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Arkansas, Pages 15 on 02/21/2014

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