FORT SMITH — An Arizona man was given 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release in federal court Wednesday on a drug trafficking charge.
Marc Antione Dion Stovall, 32, of Glendale, Ariz., was sentenced on one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, according to the office of Duane Kees, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III presided over the sentencing hearing in Fort Smith.
Stovall’s plea agreement states that at about 2:49 p.m. March 1, Arkansas State Police made consensual contact with the driver and passenger of a silver Nissan Pathfinder at the Van Buren rest area on Interstate 40. Stovall was the front seat passenger, with the driver being a woman.
During the encounter, an Arkansas State Police dog was called to the location to search the vehicle, the agreement states. A positive alert to the odor of narcotics was followed by the vehicle being searched, which revealed about 5½ kilograms of suspected cocaine located in a thermal insulated grocery bag inside the rear cargo compartment. The cocaine in the bag was wrapped in vacuum-sealed packaging with black tape. A field test showed a positive result for the presence of cocaine.
During a post arrest interview, Stovall said the suspected cocaine belonged to him, according to the agreement.
Stovall was indicted on the possession with intent to distribute charge, as well as a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine on March 14, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to the possession with intent to distribute charge on Aug. 22, with the other charge dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
The case was investigated by Arkansas State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a news release from Kees. Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case.