HOT SPRINGS -- A woman arrested last year as part of Operation White Horse, a drug sting by the Garland County drug task force targeting heroin dealers, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to felony charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Shana Nicole Perry, 26, who has remained in custody without bond since her arrest Oct. 18, pleaded guilty to one count of delivery of a controlled substance, heroin, and was sentenced to the maximum of 10 years. She also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to 20 years, and was sentenced to 10 years, to run concurrently.
Additional felony charges of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, punishable by up to life in prison, and two counts of unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate certain crimes, punishable by up to 20 years, were withdrawn as part of the plea agreement.
Deputy Prosecutor Trent Daniels, the acting commander for the Garland County drug task force, said Monday that Perry had also agreed to plead guilty without the state having to disclose its confidential informant in the case.
Perry was one of 13 suspects arrested, most within a three-day period, after an almost five-month operation by the drug task force targeting a heroin distribution ring in Garland County. Daniels said Perry had a hold on her out of Washington County, so the task force sought to get the Garland County charges handled first.
"A core group of six individuals with ties to other states, including California and Texas, were the primary focus [of the operation]," Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence said at a news conference Oct. 19 after the arrests, noting an additional three suspects with links to the original group were added as the investigation progressed.
Heroin and three firearms, including an AR-15 rifle, were purchased from the nine suspects, Lawrence said. Roughly a half-ounce of heroin, with a street value of $3,600, "was taken off the streets of Hot Springs and Garland County," she added.
Perry was part of the original core group arrested in the roundup conducted by drug task force agents, officers from Arkansas Community Correction, the Garland County sheriff's office's narcotics unit, the Arkansas State Police, and Hot Springs Police Department's SWAT team.
According to the probable cause affidavit for Perry, between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12, drug task force agents used a confidential source to purchase heroin from Natasha Aspinwell, 29, and Perry at a residence on Ramble Street.
Aspinwell was another member of the core group identified by the task force and arrested the same day as Perry. She is set to appear Feb. 11 in circuit court for a hearing on the admissibility of statements she made to authorities.
The affidavit states a communication device was used to set up the transaction between Aspinwell and the confidential source, and that Aspinwell allegedly facilitated the drug transaction by making contact with Perry, who was seen driving a red 2012 Chevrolet Impala to the residence on Ramble Street, where she went inside.
During the transaction, Aspinwell stated she would be the facilitator of future drug transactions between the source and Perry, according to the affidavit. The source purchased less than 2 grams of heroin from Perry at that time.
The drug task force is comprised of investigators from the state police, the sheriff's office, the Police Department, the Garland County prosecuting attorney's office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
Metro on 01/15/2019