Stories by Dale Ellis

Mabelvale man agrees to extradition to New York for gun trafficking LITTLE ROCK -- A Mabelvale man indicted by a federal court in New York on charges of trafficking weapons agreed Tuesday to waive a bail hearing in Arkansas and to be extradited to New York.Aboudulaye ... November 25, 2022

White River hospital’s complaint contends pharmaceutical company is violating state drug-pricing law A hospital in north central Arkansas has filed a complaint with the state insurance department after it said a drug manufacturer failed to follow state law regarding drug discounts outlined in the fed... November 24, 2022

Citing role as gang leader, judge orders Pine Bluff man held on drug trafficking charges LITTLE ROCK -- Nine defendants indicted as part of investigations by the FBI and DEA that resulted in the indictment of 80 individuals in six states appeared in court Tuesday for bond hearings that re... November 24, 2022

Mabelvale man agrees to extradition to New York for gun trafficking A Mabelvale man indicted by a federal court in New York on charges of trafficking weapons agreed Tuesday to waive a bail hearing in Arkansas and to be extradited to New York.Aboudulaye Keita, 22, who ... November 23, 2022

Citing role as gang leader, judge orders Pine Bluff man held on drug trafficking charges Nine defendants indicted as part of investigations by the FBI and DEA that resulted in the indictment of 80 individuals in six states appeared in court Tuesday for bond hearings that resulted in three... November 23, 2022

Magistrate judge OKs pre-trial release for Mabelvale defendant in drug-trafficking case A Mabelvale man was released on bond Monday to await trial after his indictment in a drug-trafficking conspiracy uncovered by the FBI's GET Rock Task Force earlier this month.Jeremy "JG"... November 22, 2022

Faulkner County man gets 30-year term for attempting to produce child pornography A Faulkner County man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempting to produce child pornography was sentenced in federal court last week to 30 years in prison.Kenny Avance, 26, of Vilonia, was i... November 20, 2022

Drug suspects appear in court As hearings in federal court continue to situate defendants in a wide-ranging investigation into gang violence and drug trafficking in Central Arkansas, a Dumas man was ordered to remain in jail until... November 19, 2022

White County man sentenced to 25 years in prison on child porn charge LITTLE ROCK -- A White County man will spend the next 25 years in federal prison after he was sentenced Monday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky on one count of production of child pornogr... November 19, 2022

Federal judge ends Michael Maggio’s court supervision Michael Maggio, the former circuit judge from Faulkner County who was at the center of a bribery scandal involving a former state senator who recently had his indictment dismissed, was granted an earl... November 19, 2022

Federal magistrate releases two of four defendants in central Arkansas drug bust Two defendants charged in a wide-ranging investigation into drug trafficking and gang activity in central Arkansas were released Thursday on conditions and two were ordered to remain in jail pending t... November 18, 2022

Saline County child porn defendant released after two years in jail awaiting trial A Saline County man who has spent nearly two years in pretrial detention after being federally indicted on two counts of possession of child pornography was allowed to go home under stringent release ... November 18, 2022

Little Rock man facing 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to child porn charge A Little Rock man is facing up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday morning before a federal judge to possession of child pornography.Brandon Gignac, 24, entered the plea before U.S. Di... November 18, 2022

White County man sentenced to 25 years in prison on child porn charge A White County man will spend the next 25 years in federal prison after he was sentenced Monday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky on one count of production of child pornography.Joshua Swe... November 18, 2022

Appeals court refuses to reconsider temporary block of state’s gender-affirming care ban A federal appeals court issued a decision Wednesday denying the state's petition to reconsider a district court ruling temporarily blocking the state from enforcing a law passed in 2021 banning ge... November 17, 2022

30 more defendants arraigned in Central Arkansas drug trafficking operation In two marathon court sessions Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe arraigned an additional 30 defendants named in indictments handed down from a multi-agency investigation headed by the FBI and DE... November 15, 2022

Arraignments held for 21 defendants charged in multi-agency drug sweep On the heels of Wednesday's announcement by federal authorities of 80 people charged across seven indictments on a variety of drug and gun charges, 21 of those people were arraigned in federal cou... November 11, 2022

Work of slain Pine Bluff detective leads to 80 indictments for drug, weapons and gang-activity charges More than two years after the shooting death of a Pine Bluff detective, investigative work he began led to the indictments of 80 people in central Arkansas on drug, weapons and gang activity charges, ... November 10, 2022

U.S. Attorney: Dozens of suspects arrested, more at-large in multi-agency central Arkansas operation Dozens of people in central Arkansas were arrested early Wednesday in a multi-agency sweep involving 13 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Bragg an... November 9, 2022

North Little Rock man charged in firebombings following Floyd protests asks for pretrial release A North Little Rock man accused of firebombing police cars in 2020 during protests in Central Arkansas in the wake of the police killing of a Minneapolis man earlier that year has asked to be released... November 9, 2022

Scott ordered to appear in Pulaski County Circuit Court next week over FOIA request Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. has been ordered by a Pulaski County circuit judge to appear in court on Nov. 16 to explain why he failed to turn over public records pertaining to his cellphone use ... November 9, 2022

February 2024 court date set for mother’s lawsuit against Cabot schools A Cabot woman who was banned from entering Cabot Public School property after a recording of her talking about school shootings was posted on social media has been given an early 2024 court date for a... November 8, 2022

Judge keeps North Little Rock man in custody over gun, drug charges A North Little Rock man arrested on gun and drug charges by a gang interdiction unit last month has been ordered to remain in federal custody, after he was federally indicted last month on charges of ... November 8, 2022

Pope County man facing federal stalking, extortion charges released from jail pending trial A Pope County man arrested Thursday morning after a federal indictment accused him of extortion and stalking was released from federal custody Friday by a magistrate judge who cautioned him that any i... November 7, 2022

Little Rock man indicted on federal charges of selling guns in New York that were bought in Arkansas A Little Rock man believed to have acted as a "straw purchaser" of at least 137 guns in Arkansas, many of which were later recovered in New York City, was arraigned this week in federal cour... November 4, 2022

Brothers plead guilty in drug-ring case Twin brothers indicted in 2019 as part of a fentanyl distribution ring authorities said was headquartered in Little Rock pleaded guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker.Andrew Zu... November 4, 2022

North Little Rock man indicted over string of fires in Oak Grove, Maumelle A North Little Rock man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury over allegations that he set fire to a local restaurant.According to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in Little... November 4, 2022

Russellville woman sentenced to five years in drug trafficking case Two defendants in a drug conspiracy case linked to the white supremacist group New Aryan Empire that was active in drug trafficking and racketeering in Pope County were sentenced Wednesday -- one to p... November 3, 2022

Little Rock man sentenced to 223 months for distributing as much as 9 pounds of fentanyl A Little Rock man who pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute between 1.2 kilograms and 4 kilograms of fentanyl was sentenced Tuesday to spend more than 18 years in prison by... November 2, 2022

Pope County woman given probation for role in methamphetamine trafficking ring A Pope County woman indicted in 2017 as part of a drug trafficking ring run by a white supremacist gang known as the New Aryan Empire was sentenced to serve three years probation for her part in the c... November 2, 2022

Former judge Maggio asks federal court to end court supervision part of bribery sentence Michael Maggio, the former circuit judge from Faulkner County who was at the center of a bribery scandal involving a former state senator who recently had his indictment dismissed, is seeking an early... October 30, 2022

Federal court holds investiture ceremony in state for newest judge — 3 years after appointment After a long delay from the global pandemic, a formal investiture ceremony celebrating the elevation of the newest federal judge to the bench in the Eastern District of Arkansas was held Friday at the... October 29, 2022

Chief Little Rock federal judge loosens remaining covid restrictions on court The federal court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, long disrupted due to covid-19 precautions that put jury trials on hold for months at a time, is finally getting back on a more normal footing a... October 29, 2022

Federal judge hands short sentences to two Arkansas women in fentanyl distribution cases Two women indicted as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy involving distribution of fentanyl, a powerful opioid, were sentenced in federal court Thursday by U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker.Tez... October 28, 2022

Sebastian County woman sentenced to 10 years on drug trafficking charge A Sebastian County woman indicted in 2017 after a wide-ranging investigation into a Pope County drug trafficking ring was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Little Rock Wednesday, t... October 27, 2022

Federal magistrate releases Little Rock drug and firearms offender to his mother A Little Rock man indicted last month on federal firearm and drug charges was released by a federal magistrate judge to the temporary custody of his mother until space opens up for him in a drug rehab... October 27, 2022

Little Rock man sentenced to life in prison for rape of a 6-year-old LITTLE ROCK -- A Little Rock man indicted in 2019 for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a 6-year-old child will spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced Tuesday in federal cour... October 27, 2022

Judge grills Arkansas State Police trooper’s attorney for justification for 2020 traffic stop and search A Little Rock man, who sued an Arkansas State Police trooper after a 2020 traffic stop in which he was detained for nearly two hours -- most of that time in handcuffs -- before being released with a w... October 26, 2022

Little Rock man sentenced to life in prison for rape of a 6-year-old A Little Rock man indicted in 2019 for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a 6-year-old child will spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced Tuesday in federal court by U.S. Distr... October 26, 2022

Federal judge signs off on prosecution’s motion to dismiss charges against Gilbert Baker Gilbert Baker, the Faulkner County Republican who represented District 30 in the Arkansas Senate from 2001 through 2012, expressed relief Monday after Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. g... October 25, 2022

Three-judge panel dismisses part of lawsuit over Arkansas’ congressional redistricting A federal complaint filed last March claiming that legislative redistricting that split Pulaski County's Black population into three separate congressional districts violated the Voting Rights Act... October 25, 2022

Charges against former state Sen. Baker dismissed as judge grants prosecutor's motion Bribery and wire fraud charges levied against Former State Sen. Gilbert Baker in 2019 were dismissed on Monday.Baker, 66, is the Faulkner County Republican who represented District 30 from 2001 throug... October 24, 2022

Complaint over Congressional redistricting in Pulaski County partially dismissed A federal complaint filed last March over Congressional redistricting in Pulaski County was partially dismissed on Monday by a three-judge panel.The complaint alleged that the change violated the fede... October 24, 2022

State to finish putting on its case in transgender care trial late next month With the end of the first week of testimony in federal court regarding Arkansas' first-in-the-nation law banning hormone therapy for transgender minors, the parties in the case are now waiting for... October 24, 2022

Russellville man sentenced to 27 years for role in kidnapping of two LITTLE ROCK -- Four defendants, all from Russellville, who were indicted in a wide-ranging racketeering and drug conspiracy case that resulted in indictments of 55 people, most from Pope County, were ... October 24, 2022

State’s request to dismiss Arkansas transgender case denied, trial adjourns until late November Plaintiffs in the federal trial contesting the constitutionality of the state's ban on transgender health care for minors rested their case Friday morning after which U.S. District Judge James M. ... October 22, 2022

Prosecutors move to drop bribery charges against former Arkansas senator In a surprise move Thursday evening, the U.S. attorney's office in Little Rock filed a motion in federal court to dismiss federal wire fraud and bribery charges against former Republican state Sen... October 21, 2022

Greene County man pleads guilty in federal court to drug trafficking charge A Greene County man is facing a possible 10 years to life in federal prison after pleading guilty in court Thursday to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.Dylan Hunter Si... October 21, 2022

Teen’s testimony highlights third day of transgender care trial Dylan Brandt, a transgender 17-year-old and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the state's first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender people younger than 18, took... October 20, 2022