The former head of a Pope County-based white supremacist organization who was accused of leading a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison Wednesday as part of a plea agreement in which he admitted to one count each of racketeering and narcotics conspiracy.
Wesley Shawn Gullett, 31, of Russellville, also known as “Bad Company” or “BC,” was originally charged with one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine, but a superseding indictment added charges of racketeering, aiding and abetting attempted murder, aiding and abetting assault with a deadly weapon, and firearms charges.
Under the federal system, which has no parole, Gullett must serve a minimum of 85% of his sentence, meaning that with maximum time off for good behavior, he would serve 29 years, nine months before becoming eligible for release. After his release, he will serve five years under the supervision of the office of probation and pretrial services.
The racketeering charges were brought under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and stemmed from the kidnapping and torture of two witnesses to crimes committed by the New Aryan Empire, a violent drug trafficking gang that authorities said began as a prison gang in the 1990s but soon spread out into the “free world” under a bifurcated leadership structure.
Authorities said that at the time of his arrest on Feb. 2, 2019, Gullett headed up outside operations for the New Aryan Empire. According to a second superseding indictment, his role included narcotics trafficking; witness intimidation and retaliation; and acts involving kidnapping, aggravated assault and murder.
For his sentencing hearing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller, Gullett appeared via teleconference link from the West Tennessee Detention Center in Mason, Tenn. His attorney, Bruce David Eddy of Fayetteville, raised an objection to two paragraphs in Gullett’s presentence report, which referenced state and federal charges lodged against Gullett related to his escape from the Jefferson County jail in Pine Bluff on July 19, 2019.
“Those escape charges are still pending, and he is not in a legal position to do anything but deny that conduct at this time,” Eddy said. “There’s one in Jefferson County and there’s one in federal court here in Little Rock, and I just want to make it clear that those are being denied based upon my advice.” Gullett is scheduled for jury trial on the federal escape charge June 14 before U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr. The matter is still pending in Jefferson County Circuit Court. Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that the matter had not moved forward because the racketeering case against Gullett had taken precedence.
“The charges are still pending, and we’ll make a decision on whether to [drop the charge] based on his sentence today and the fact that he has that escape from custody pending in federal court,” Hunter said. “That will have an impact on whether we go forward in state court.” Regarding the plea agreement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti read a brief statement in court in support of the agreed-upon 35-year term for Gullett, calling it a “just and fair sentence” intended to protect others from Gullett until he would presumably be too old to be deemed a threat outside prison.
“The government took into account the defendant’s age and at what age the government believes he will no longer pose a danger to the community,” Mazzanti read. “The government considered the significant leadership role the defendant had in NAE as the outside president of the organization and his responsibility for the conduct of the organization.” Mazzanti said the gang engaged in large-scale methamphetamine trafficking over several years that brought significant harm to Pope County.
“This defendant was at the center of that harm,” she said. “Even after Gullett was incarcerated, he continued to direct drug trafficking activities to those on the outside and attempted to have contraband smuggled into the jail for him.” Also taken into consideration in trying to reach an appropriate sentence, Mazzanti said, was the extreme violence engaged in by the gang at the direction of its leaders, including Gullett.
The second superseding indictment said that from 2014 to 2016, Gullett and New Aryan Empire associate and co-defendant Marcus Millsap repeatedly offered money to other associates of the group to kill Bruce Wayne Hurley, who had purchased methamphetamine from Millsap. According to the charging document, New Aryan Empire members believed that Hurley had provided information about Millsap to law enforcement officials, and group members were said to have carried out other retaliatory acts against those whom they believed had provided information to authorities.
“The attempted murder demonstrated NAE’s rule that it did not tolerate cooperating with law enforcement that implicates a member or someone associated with organization,” Mazzanti said. “The defendant was the leader of an incredibly violent organization that caused significant harm to our state.” According to the indictment, Hurley had purchased 1.5 ounces of methamphetamine from Millsap for $3,600 on May 1, 2014. Two years later, on May 2, 2016, Hurley, 49, was fatally shot by an unknown assailant at his home in Atkins. No one has been charged in the killing.
Eddy asked Miller to recommend that Gullett be placed in an ex-gang unit of the Bureau of Prisons, saying that since his arrest, Gullett has left the group. The attorney also asked that Miller recommend Gullett for the Residential Drug Abuse Program, an inmate substance abuse treatment program run by the Bureau of Prisons. Eddy also requested that Gullett’s 35-year sentence run concurrent to any sentence imposed should he be convicted of escape by the federal government or the state.
Miller denied all requests.
“You’ve done a great job, Mr. Eddy,” Miller said. “You were able to keep him from getting life in prison. He’s gotten the full benefit of your hard work. But he has to serve his time. Whether the Bureau of Prisons decides to work with him on all those things is fine, but I’m just not going to recommend them.” Miller said that if Eddy would provide a specific facility, he would make that recommendation, but not a blanket recommendation for Gullett to be housed in an ex-gang unit or a Residential Drug Abuse Program facility.