HOT SPRINGS – A Baxter County man has been sentenced to a total of 240 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his involvement in a methamphetamine trafficking operation.
Michael Steven Benedict, 45, of Salem, was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in federal prison for one count of Distribution of More Than Fifty Grams of Actual Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense.
According to court documents, Special Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Hot Springs Police Department, Special Investigations Division, conducted multiple controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Benedict between January and May 2021.
On April 21, 2021, the Special Agents conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine, four stolen firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from Benedict. The suspected methamphetamine was submitted to the DEA Southeast Laboratory and determined to be a total of 361.03 grams of actual methamphetamine.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement, noting that this effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hot Springs Police Department, Special Investigations Division, investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Achorn prosecuted the case.
The OCDETF Program is a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach aimed at identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.
Benedict’s sentence is a result of a joint effort between the DEA and the Hot Springs Police Department to combat methamphetamine trafficking in the Western District of Arkansas.
Related Federal Cases
- Michael Sartin, Methamphetamine Distribution, Arkansas 2023 · Arkansas
- Ulysses Bush, Methamphetamine Distribution, Arkansas 2024 · Oklahoma
- Michael Smith, Methamphetamine Distribution, New York 2024 · Texas
- Eddie Bonner, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Arkansas 2024 · Arkansas
- Lonnie Joseph Parker, Unlawful Distribution of Schedule II and Schedule V Controlled Substances, Arkansas 2023 · Tennessee
Key Facts
- State: Arkansas
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Drug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking