
Delta Blues
Sentence is given Helena ex-officer
posted: 04/12/2013 4:53 a.m. Discuss
The only law-enforcement officer to go to trial in a federal drug and public-corruption case centered in Helena-West Helena was sentenced Thursday to 2½ years in prison for her extortion and drug-trafficking convictions.
Delta Blues officer sentenced to 2.5 years
updated: 04/11/2013 10:47 a.m.
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A former police officer convicted of charges tied to a broad investigation into corruption and drug trafficking in eastern Arkansas has been sentenced.
Delta drug dealer gets 200 months
posted: 03/16/2013 4:58 a.m. Discuss
A federal judge ordered a nearly 17-year prison term Friday for a Helena-West Helena man whom federal agents recorded in 2011 complaining about the quality of cocaine he’d purchased and accusing his purported drug supplier of shorting him.
Lee County drug dealer gets 25 years
posted: 03/09/2013 5:06 a.m. Comments 2
A Lee County convicted rapist and drug dealer who shot at federal agents as they tried to arrest him in 2011 was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday.
Probation agency will supervise man
posted: 03/08/2013 4:53 a.m. Discuss
A change of heart by the U.S. Probation Office for the Middle District of Tennessee has spared Operation Delta Blues defendant Donnie Mitchell from a resentencing hearing that was scheduled for this morning in Little Rock.
Agency refuses to tend convict
posted: 03/02/2013 4:48 a.m. Discuss
A Helena-West Helena man, sentenced Wednesday to “time served” instead of a prison sentence after a federal judge learned that he was relieved to be arrested and freed from his life of drug trafficking, will be resentenced next week.
Marvell woman gets two years in cocaine case
posted: 03/01/2013 12:40 a.m. Discuss
A Marvell woman who served as an unpaid courier for a drug-trafficking operation that imported cocaine from Dallas into the Helena-West Helena area in 2008 and 2009 was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison – half the term sought by prosecutors but more than the probation she requested.
Man gets five years in Delta drug case
posted: 02/16/2013 4:44 a.m. Discuss
A Helena-West Helena drug dealer received a five year sentence in federal court Friday for the role he played in a multi-state drug trafficking ring that funneled hundreds of pounds of cocaine into the Arkansas Delta.
Helena man admits being drug runner
posted: 01/18/2013 12:23 a.m. Discuss
For nearly two years, Jessie Brewer’s apartment in Helena-West Helena was known to crack dealers and users as “The Projects,” a place where guns were stashed and drugs were easily available for purchase, prosecutors say.
Kalb found guilty on drug, extortion charges
updated: 12/14/2012 1:10 p.m.
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A former police officer charged in a broad investigation into corruption and drug trafficking in eastern Arkansas has been found guilty of extortion and attempt to possess a controlled substance.
Jury gets Delta drug-escort case
posted: 12/14/2012 2:33 a.m. Discuss
Shortly before jurors began deliberating Thursday on public-corruption charges against a former Helena-West Helena police lieutenant, a federal prosecutor asked rhetorically if it made sense that the officer would go out of her way on her day off just to help an acquaintance transport motorcycle parts through the city.
Jury begins deliberations in 'Delta Blues' trial of ex-officer
posted: 12/13/2012 3:12 p.m.
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The jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a former police officer arrested as part of a broad investigation into drug trafficking and corruption in eastern Arkansas.
Framed by FBI ally, says ex-officer
posted: 12/13/2012 12:58 a.m. Discuss
A former Helena-West Helena police lieutenant testified Wednesday during her trial that she was set up by an FBI informant who made it falsely appear in secret recordings that she agreed to help him transport cocaine through the city in return for cash.
Informant tells jury he hired officer to escort drugs
posted: 12/12/2012 12:37 a.m. Discuss
A career drug dealer now living in Memphis spent most of Tuesday describing for jurors in a Little Rock federal courtroom the enormity and pervasiveness of public corruption in and around Helena-West Helena, where he grew up. Cornelious Coleman, 35, whom an FBI agent described as a true “player,” revealed a seedy world of drug deals, thefts and payoffs that blatantly thrived alongside official business.
Total paid to felon in 'Delta Blues' case to eclipse $50,000
posted: 12/11/2012 10:51 a.m.
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A convicted felon who worked as an informant for authorities during a broad investigation into drug trafficking and corruption in eastern Arkansas will receive a total of more than $50,000 for his involvement and expenses, an FBI agent testified Tuesday.