Kenneth "Ice Man" Brown II, the leader of a conspiracy involving the large-scale distribution of methamphetamine in Blytheville, was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 years in prison.
The 29-year-old Blytheville man was indicted March 6, 2013, along with 10 other people, as a result of a three-year investigation by the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in partnership with the 2nd Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, which includes officers from the Blytheville and Osceola police departments and the Mississippi County sheriff's office.
The 53-count indictment alleged that the conspirators sold hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine.
Brown was the final defendant in the case to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty Dec. 1 to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, with enhancements for using a firearm in connection with the offense and maintaining a drug premises.
The other defendants in the case pleaded guilty, as well, most of them in April 2014 and one in September 2014, to varying charges. Their sentences ranged from five years in prison to more than 16 years in prison, with two others receiving the same 151-month sentence as Brown.
All the sentences are to be served in federal prison, where parole is unavailable.
"The commitment this office has made to eradicating drug trafficking and violent crime in Northeast Arkansas and the entire Arkansas Delta has never wavered," U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said in a news release announcing the final sentence in the case.
"The citizens of Blytheville will not have to deal with these 11 individuals, who were bringing drugs, guns and violence into the community, for many years," Thyer said. "Kenneth Brown II, in particular, was responsible for importing many kilograms of methamphetamine into Northeast Arkansas, and today's sentence is the end result of that behavior. Let the sentences in this case be a warning: If you traffic in guns or drugs, you will serve time in prison."
The investigation into Brown's organization, which included his father, Kenneth Brown Sr.; his brother, Tremayne Brown; and cousins, Bobby Knight and Tyrone McCray, began in early 2012, according Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Givens, who prosecuted the case.
Givens said that during the course of the investigation, more than 15 controlled purchases of methamphetamine were made, resulting in the seizure of more than one kilogram of the drug. He said that when other seizures during the execution of search warrants and traffic stops are included, about 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized altogether.
The others who have been sentenced include Andre Robinson, Derrick Rhodes, Renaldre Jackson, Brian Robinson, Isaac Black and Rashead Staton.
Metro on 06/20/2015