Arkansas man sentenced in meth case; he gets 35 years for 50-pound stash intercepted in 2016

FORT SMITH -- An Alma man has been sentenced in federal court to 35 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in the Fort Smith area.

Western Arkansas Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III also sentenced David Hurl Lemmon on Wednesday to 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence will run concurrently with the conspiracy conviction.

Lemmon, 44, was convicted of both charges in a federal court jury trial in December.

In a sentencing memorandum, the government called Lemmon an armed career criminal and stated that he was convicted of burglary in Sequoyah County, Okla., in 1992, second-degree battery in 2000 and manufacturing of methamphetamine in 2011, both in Sebastian County.

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Court records showed that 50 pounds of methamphetamine was being delivered to him in January 2016 when the car carrying the drugs from California was stopped in Potter County, Texas. Lisa Zamora, 24, and Hector Vasquez were in the car and were arrested.

Both were included in the indictment against Lemmon, charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Zamora pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison.

Vasquez was released from custody last year after posting a $35,000 bond but has failed to appear and is a federal fugitive.

Pedro Valle, 31, also was charged in the indictment with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Valle, who pleaded guilty, had made the arrangements for the methamphetamine to be delivered to Lemmon, U.S. attorney, said.

A fifth defendant, John Davenport Spencer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

State Desk on 06/23/2017

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