Bruce McArthur Smith, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Arkansas 2026

LITTLE ROCK — A federal jury has convicted Bruce McArthur Smith, 54, of Hesperia, Calif., in a methamphetamine and cocaine conspiracy that spanned multiple states. Smith and two co-defendants, Kevin Langel, 54, of Pine Bluff, and Larry Rogers, 71, of Benton, were found guilty of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The evidence presented at trial revealed that Smith was selling methamphetamine to Roderick Toney, 58, of Little Rock, who pleaded guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The investigation, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and North Little Rock Police Department, showed that Smith knew individuals in Pine Bluff and came to Arkansas several times during the conspiracy period of 2020 through 2022.

Toney received multiple pounds of methamphetamine directly from Smith at an apartment complex in Little Rock several times during that period. The evidence at trial detailed phone calls between Smith and Toney that detailed multiple methamphetamine transactions.

Additionally, the United States presented evidence that Kevin Langel was the source of supply of cocaine that Rogers obtained for Toney in June and July 2022. Langel was engaged in numerous multiple-kilogram transactions of cocaine sourced out of Houston and Dallas in late 2022 and early 2023.

Larry Rogers, 71, of Benton, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Rogers’ charge exposes him to a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years, and four years of supervised release.

All three men were detained following the jury’s verdict and will be sentenced at a later date. Smith and Langel’s conspiracy charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years, with a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a minimum of five years’ supervised release to follow.

The defendants who were convicted at trial were the last of 18 individuals involved in the case, which began in North Little Rock before expanding to California. All 18 defendants have now been convicted, with sentencing hearings for several defendants still pending.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

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