Source: Office of United States Attorneys
EL DORADO – Fifteen members and associates of a South Arkansas drug trafficking organization, including two Los Angeles-area narcotics suppliers, have been sentenced to serve a combined 1,591 months in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearings, which took place between August 7, 2024, and May 21, 2025, in the United States District Court at El Dorado, Arkansas. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, between August 2021 and August 2022, Christopher Walters, age 45, of Magnolia, operated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing kilograms of methamphetamine in and around Columbia County, Arkansas. Walters sourced bulk methamphetamine from Michael Cummings, a 46-year-old Southern California business owner who doubled as an interstate narcotics supplier. Cummings employed Robert Leonne Morris, age 47, of Los Angeles, to deliver methamphetamine and other drugs to Walters in Arkansas, at times by rail. Walters then engaged numerous South Arkansas DTO members and associates in storing, transporting and distributing that methamphetamine, and attempting to do so, before sharing the substantial profits with Cummings.
On August 10, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its state and local partners executed search warrants at multiple Columbia County properties owned or controlled by DTO members and associates, including Walters. In so doing, investigators found and seized methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, more than 15 firearms, including tactical rifles, and thousands of dollars in cash.
Between September 2022 and March 2023, a federal grand jury sitting in the Western District of Arkansas returned indictments charging 15 members and associates of Walters’ DTO, including Cummings and Morris, with a total of fifty (50) felony counts. All 15 defendants pleaded guilty to one or more felony violations of the Controlled Substances Act, and have been sentenced as follows:
|
Defendant |
Prison Term |
Sentence Date |
| Christopher Walters, 45, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
222 months |
December 6, 2024 |
| Michael Cummings, 46, of Los Angeles, California |
162 months |
March 21, 2025 |
| Jvance Radford, 47, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
144 months |
August 22, 2024 |
| Joseph Lowe, 38, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
140 months |
August 12, 2024 |
| Robert Leonne Morris, 47, of Los Angeles, California |
121 months |
May 21, 2025 |
| Lacadran D. Thomas, 37, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
120 months |
August 22, 2024 |
| Marcus S. Jordan, 42, of Waldo, Arkansas |
110 months |
December 4, 2024 |
| Hendrick Johnson, 27, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
108 months |
September 11, 2024 |
| Dawnisha D. Jordan, 40, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
98 months |
August 7, 2024 |
| John L. Grissom, 40, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
97 months |
August 7, 2024 |
| Jarrod D. Wilson, 38, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
78 months |
March 20, 2025 |
| Nyterious L. Sharp, 32, of Waldo, Arkansas |
60 months |
August 23, 2024 |
| Antonio J. Johnson, 41, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
54 months |
August 22, 2024 |
| Malaysia D. Benjamin, 36, of Los Angeles, California |
41 months |
December 5, 2024 |
| Mario L. Meadows, 36, of Magnolia, Arkansas |
36 months |
May 21, 2025 |
In addition to his 162-month prison sentence, a $100,000 money judgment was also entered against Cummings, representing his profits from the year-long conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in South Arkansas. That judgment is executable against Cummings’ assets in California and elsewhere.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Magnolia Police Department, the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Union County, Arkansas, Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado Police Department, the Arkansas State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States.
The case was investigated and prosecuted under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov.