A Yell County man was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in federal prison for his part in a large-scale drug conspiracy directed by a violent white supremacist gang operating out of Pope County that trafficked multiple kilograms of methamphetamine into central Arkansas.
Henri Keener II, 46, of Danville admitted as part of a plea agreement to being responsible for trafficking between 30 pounds and 100 pounds of methamphetamine as part of a conspiracy run by the New Aryan Empire, a white supremacist gang that began as a prison gang in the 1990s and spread into communities in and around Arkansas as its members were released from prison. Keener is the 32nd of 55 defendants in the case to be sentenced.
After hearing arguments from defense attorney Joseph Robert Perry of Marianna, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller agreed to go below the statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and sentenced Keener to 84 months. The statutory maximum sentence for Keener's offense is life in prison. U.S. sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence ranging between 135 months and 168 months in prison.
Perry argued that Keener's record prior to his arrest on the conspiracy count was virtually spotless, with only one arrest in his past, on a charge that was eventually dismissed.
"My client is 46 years old and he's a father, a grandfather and a son as well," Perry said. "As the court noted, he has no criminal history, no misdemeanor or felony convictions, and he has a criminal history score of zero."
Perry described Keener as a hard worker whose only gap in employment since he was a teenager is "a short period of time in college."
Perry said Keener's legal troubles came about after he became addicted to methamphetamine.
"He was having some real difficult times and a, quote, friend of his said, 'Here, try some meth,' " Perry said. "That was the worst day of his life."
Perry said Keener is poised to take over his family's business -- a waste removal service in Russellville that is currently run by his mother -- once he leaves prison and his mother retires. He distanced his client from the more violent aspects of the core group of co-defendants who were indicted on violence in aid of racketeering charges and conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
"He's not a member of any of the riff-raff that's going on in this matter. He's not a gang member, and he never has been," Perry said. "I believe this man will not re-offend as strongly as I've ever believed in any client I've ever represented."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti voiced no objection to the sentence, deferring to the court's discretion.
Of the 29 co-defendants sentenced, only one has avoided prison time. Susan Hampton, 38, of Russellville, was sentenced Jan. 8, 2021, to time served after her Jan. 6, 2021, plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Other sentences have ranged from a three-year sentence handed down to Ralph Ross for failure to report a felony to a 35-year sentence handed down to Wesley Gullett, the reputed outside president of the New Aryan Empire.
One defendant , Troy "Tricky" Loadholdt, 40, of Russellville, has been missing since before the first indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury in 2017 and is considered a fugitive.
Marcus Millsap, 54, of Danville -- the only defendant to go to trial -- was convicted Sept. 24 of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, aiding and abetting attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, following a 14-day trial. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Federal investigators dubbed the case Operation To the Dirt, a reference to the New Aryan Empire slogan that refers to a rule that gang members must stay in the gang until they die.
The case began in 2016 when Pope County authorities, assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, began investigating the murder of an Atkins man who was believed to have been killed by a member of the gang.
In 2017, drug conspiracy and weapons charges were filed against 44 people in Pope County who were accused of running or participating in a drug trafficking ring. Several defendants were reputed members of the New Aryan Empire.
In 2019, a superseding indictment expanded the number of defendants by 11 and added charges of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act against some defendants as well as charges of kidnapping, maiming, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder in aid of racketeering against several defendants.