A Faulkner County man who pleaded guilty last year in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl walked out of court Thursday after being sentenced to time served and ordered to complete three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker.
Donald Dean Thomas II, 30, of Conway, was indicted as part of a fentanyl distribution ring authorities said was run by Clifton Williams. He faced a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Thomas' attorney, Lauren Elenbaas of Conway, argued in favor of leniency for her client, pointing out that even before his indictment in October 2019, he had entered an intensive, yearlong drug rehabilitation program at Renewal Ranch, a faith-based recovery center located just outside Conway. Elenbaas said the intensive program was necessary because of the length of time -- 18 years -- that Thomas had been using drugs and that he entered the program on his own initiative.
"The defendant is 30 years old and he started using substances at 12, so for 18 of his 30 years on this planet he's been using," Elenbaas said. "At 12 it was alcohol, 13 it was pot, at 16 it's prescriptions, at 18 it's Adderall, 19 it's alprazolam, at 22 it's LSD, at 26 it was heroin and at 27 it was methamphetamine, so that is what I like to call the cocktail that is every parent's worst nightmare."
Elenbaas said Thomas' criminal history consisted entirely of drug-related crimes that she said included drug possession and forgery and culminated in his inclusion as one of 23 people indicted in the fentanyl conspiracy. She noted that during a three-week period in 2018 when Williams' cellphone was tapped, Thomas contacted Williams more than 400 times seeking to buy fentanyl.
James Loy, executive director of Renewal Ranch, testified that when Thomas came to the center in August 2019, "he did everything we asked of him" during the program, "and he did it with a great attitude."
"Our program is not an easy program and it's not designed to be," Loy said. "It takes a lot of work. If you want change in your life you have to do some things differently."
Loy said after Thomas graduated from the program in August 2020, he was asked to join the staff as a counselor to assist other residents working to overcome addiction. He said during the 11 years the program has been in existence, more than 600 men have graduated from the program, "and only 25 have been asked to join our staff."
Thomas' wife, Brittany Thomas, described for Baker her husband's role at home providing full-time care for his father, who suffers from dementia and has been placed in hospice care. A hospice nurse herself, Brittany Thomas said ethical restrictions don't allow her to care for family members, making Thomas' help crucial.
She said that Thomas provides full-time care for his father -- bathing, feeding and caring for him -- which she said has impacted his ability to work outside the home. Also, she said, the demands of caring for his father had made it necessary for them to move into the family home with his father and mother to allow him to be on hand 24 hours a day.
Asking Baker to consider a sentence of time served for Thomas, Elenbaas said going to prison would present a negative impact to the care he provides.
"It's our position that he has become, in a very short amount of time, an irreplaceable caretaker to his father," she said.
Asked her position on an appropriate sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Benecia Moore said she would defer to the court, but said that the change in Thomas did appear to be genuine.
"People in our office believe he is really sincere when he says he has turned the corner," she said. "Whatever the court deems appropriate in this case is fine and however the court wishes to fashion it."
Following a short recess, Baker emerged from her chambers with her decision to sentence Thomas to time served and to three years supervised release.
"If you violate, you're back here in front of me," Baker told him. "I know everything that's been said and everything that's been represented and you're going to have to answer for that again. I don't say that as a threat ... just go in with eyes wide open that we'll meet again if there's an issue."
Thomas is the sixth defendant in the case to be sentenced. Sentences so far have ranged from time served to 37 months in prison. Charges against three defendants have been dismissed. Nine defendants, including Williams, have entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing and four are currently scheduled for trial beginning Aug. 22 before Baker.