Drug trafficking nets Cabot man 10-year sentence

Families of overdose victims give teary statement in court

The parents of two young men who died from heroin overdoses in 2011 and 2012 read an emotional statement aloud in a federal courtroom Monday as a Cabot man who was the main supplier of the drug in that area bowed his head, later apologizing while accepting a 10-year prison sentence.

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In the statement, a tearful Sherri Harris struggled to describe the pain of losing her 25-year-old son, Dustin Harris, who died from an overdose of the drug in a Morrilton hotel room on March 24, 2012, the morning after he and his wife bought the drug from a friend at a nearby gas station. The friend, Justin Pennock, had been his roommate the previous year in a rehabilitation facility that Dustin's mother said her son had volunteered to be admitted to as part of an ongoing struggle to overcome his addiction to the potent drug.

"One of Dusty's greatest fears was he would die a junkie and his daughter would be left with that knowledge," said Sherri Harris, who is now raising the 4-year-old girl with her husband. She said that despite their son's death from an overdose, "that wasn't who he was."

She recalled that workers at the rehab center told her that they had "never seen someone so committed to changing his life."

"He, and we, had great hopes for his future," she told U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. from a courtroom lectern. "But because of the bad choices he and others including Mr. Onezine made, those choices are gone."

She was referring to Wallando Onezine, 37, who looked down from a nearby table while awaiting his sentencing for distributing the drug in the Cabot area. He listened solemnly as the tearful mother made the statement on behalf of the Harris family and the family of Jared Maxwell, who died at age 19 on Oct. 28, 2011, from an overdose of heroin that Onezine supplied.

Maxwell's mother, Allison Maxwell, continuously wiped tears from her eyes while gently rubbing Sherri Harris' back as they and their husbands, Richard McCutcheon and Milton Harris, stood before the judge and let Harris speak for both families. Several supporters in the courtroom gallery also wiped tears from their eyes.

Just before the sentencing hearing, Pennock, 27, of Cabot had pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to distribute, and possessing heroin with the intent to distribute. He admitted going to Onezine's house to get a gram of the drug for Dustin Harris, at Dustin's request, just before giving it to him in a parking lot.

Pennock faces up to five years in prison when sentenced at a later date. He is one of six defendants besides Onezine who were jointly indicted a year ago in a heroin trafficking conspiracy that U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said not only led to the two men's deaths, but to overdoses by seven other people in the Cabot area. Thyer said the overdoses served as a wake-up call for law enforcement agents as to the prevalence of the drug in the area.

One of the other defendants in the case, Alex Evans, 24, of Cabot, also pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge of distributing less than 5 grams of heroin on March 19, 2012. He is the only defendant so far who prosecutors have said isn't expected to receive prison time.

Marshall accepted a guilty plea May 28 from Mark Aaron "Zane" Pruitt, 24, of Jacksonville, to distributing less than 5 grams of the drug in March 2012. On July 14, the judge accepted a guilty plea to the main conspiracy charge from Keith "Key" Sanders, 26, of Memphis, who also was considered a major player in the distribution ring, and who faces five to 40 years in prison when sentenced at a later date. Plea hearings for two other defendants are scheduled later this week. Any defendants who don't plead guilty face a six-week jury trial beginning in late September.

Onezine pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge June 19, avoiding a jury trial where he faced an automatic life sentence if convicted. He later asked to withdraw his guilty plea, but then changed his mind again and decided to go through with it, if the judge would agree to the 10-year sentence.

On Monday, Marshall cited Onezine's wavering in declining to give him full credit under federal sentencing guidelines for accepting responsibility. But he approved the plea agreement and sentence, saying he had thought "long and hard" about whether to accept it, but decided in favor of it, partly because Harris' and Maxwell's families were consulted before assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Gordon and Chris Givens negotiated the agreement through defense attorney Molly Sullivan.

"Mr. Onezine, I believe that you did not intend for anyone to die, and that you did not intend for any harm to come to anyone," Marshall told the defendant, who could be seen wiping his eyes after listening to the families' statement.

Onezine had told Marshall minutes earlier that he sympathized with the families, and told them: "There were so many things that were said that I really thought about. I apologize for what this has become."

After hearing the families' statement, Marshall took a brief recess, then returned to the bench to announce that he wanted the statement transcribed and provided to each defendant prior to their sentencings. He told the mothers that they were welcome to return and address the other defendants if they chose, "but I don't want you to have to go through this again."

In addition to the 10-year sentence in federal prison, where parole is not available, Marshall ordered Onezine to serve 10 years' probation after his release, and to perform 1,000 hours of community service work, with at least 100 hours of the service work to be performed in each of the 10 years. Marshall said the community service work should be carried out in the Cabot area and involve working with at-risk youth.

He told Onezine: "I want you to educate them about the dangers of drug use and the harm that can come from it. ... You need to be a walking billboard: Don't do what I did."

The judge noted that while Onezine was said to be the initial source of heroin in the Cabot area, other sources eventually developed as well.

"I don't see in you, Mr. Onezine, a drug kingpin who is in the big business of selling drugs" to obtain large amounts of cash, fancy cars and big houses. He said he understood that Onezine also struggled with heroin addiction, saying, "I believe you were a prisoner of this addiction."

He concluded the hearing by telling Onezine that he hopes, 10 years from now, to hear how Onezine is helping young people in Cabot.

"You will hear it, your honor," Onezine replied.

Metro on 07/29/2014

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