A White County man indicted as part of a wide-ranging drug conspiracy following a large-scale drug bust in north-central Arkansas last year faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
Sigmond Donelson, 48, of Searcy, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky in the drug conspiracy case in White County that stemmed from a federal investigation that resulted in indictments of 33 people. The investigation, dubbed Operation "Central Sweep," began in April 2020 as a push for Searcy police to combat growing violent crime connected to a drug distribution organization known as the "Gangster Disciples" near Searcy, Police Chief Steve Hernandez said last year following announcement of the arrests.
Numerous indictments were handed up by a federal grand jury in Little Rock on March 5, 2021, with many of the suspects rounded up about a week later around the county and taken to a staging area at the Searcy Municipal Airport prior to their court appearances.
Donelson, who was indicted along with Keith Williams, 48, of Augusta, has been free on pre-trial release with conditions since his arraignment after U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe allowed him to leave detention to live with his mother in Memphis where he had a job lined up. After testing positive for drug use, Donelson was allowed to enter residential drug rehabilitation treatment followed by chemical-free living as an alternative to revocation of his release, assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Fields said.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky outlined Donelson's options to plead innocent, guilty or no contest and went over Donelson's rights should he elect to go to trial and the rights he would surrender by pleading guilty.
He told Donelson "a plea of guilty in open court is the strongest proof under the law," and could be withdrawn later only under the most extreme circumstances.
Reading the terms of the plea agreement worked out between the government and Donelson under the guidance of his attorney, Crystal Okoro of North Little Rock, Fields said Donelson had agreed the charge involved just less than 13 grams of methamphetamine.
Fields said that on Aug. 3, 2020, Donelson was driving a vehicle that Searcy police pulled over for expired tags and was arrested after police smelled marijuana and discovered outstanding arrest warrants for Donelson and for Williams, who she said was a passenger in the vehicle..
She said after Donelson and Williams were arrested a search of the vehicle turned up the methamphetamine, a quantity of marijuana and a set of scales.
"Initially," Fields said, "Donelson denied that the methamphetamine belonged to him but later acknowledged that his fingerprints would likely be found on the plastic bag containing the methamphetamine."
Following up, Rudofsky asked Donelson if he admitted that he possessed the methamphetamine and that his intention was to distribute the drug, to which Donelson answered affirmatively to both questions.
After accepting Donelson's plea, Rudofsky allowed him to remain free on pre-trial release conditions and to continue his stay in chemical-free living after Fields said he had had no further positive drug tests after completing rehab. Okoro noted that Donelson was working at a steady job and helping to support his family while he awaited resolution of his case.
"The only reason I'm doing this is because you seem to have turned around the problem you had originally while you were on pre-trial supervision," Rudofsky told Donelson. "If I find there are any problems ... I'm going to issue a warrant for you and put you in jail pending sentencing."