LITTLE ROCK—Patrick C. Harris, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Matthew Barden, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office, and Colonel William J. Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police, announced today that a federal jury found Javier Leon, 56, of Moreno Valley, Calif., guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in a case that involved the largest amount of methamphetamine ever seized in Arkansas. Law enforcement located more than 260 pounds of methamphetamine—worth millions of dollars—in the back of Leon’s tractor-trailer while he was traveling through Lonoke in 2015.
United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr., presided over the four-day trial, which concluded Thursday with the jury verdict. Leon will be sentenced by Judge Moody at a later date.
"This seizure had enough methamphetamine to supply every man, woman, and child in Little Rock," Harris said. "Thanks to the efforts of several law enforcement agencies and agents, this significant amount of methamphetamine will never hit the streets, and never poison our communities. This jury verdict makes clear that whatever level of involvement you have with this drug—as a seller, user, or courier—there will be justice served and punishment delivered."
Testimony during the trial established that the 260 pounds of methamphetamine, broken into user quantities, could have had more than 300,000 individual user amounts, with a potential street value of $7-$8 million.
Leon owned his own 18-wheel tractor-trailer and drove for California furniture shipping company American West. On March 30, 2015, while heading east on Interstate 40, Leon pulled over and parked illegally on an exit ramp in Lonoke. Now-retired Arkansas State Police Corporal Olen Craig made contact with Leon, and the state police then searched the trailer after a drug-detection dog indicated narcotics were present.
Arkansas State Police Corporal Chase Melder located the methamphetamine, which included more than 22 pounds of powder methamphetamine and more than 240 pounds of liquid methamphetamine, amongst a load of furniture destined for Alabama and the Atlanta area. The liquid methamphetamine was contained in multiple five-gallon plastic jugs, similar to the type of jugs used with water coolers.
"Stopping drug traffickers traveling across Arkansas highways is a priority for state troopers, particularly the department’s criminal interdiction unit," Bryant said. "This case represents a major victory in stopping illegal drugs from getting to a destination and our troopers are committed to staying in the fight."
The DEA became involved in the case following the seizure and continued to investigate Leon. In addition to the guilty verdict, the jury found that the 18-wheel tractor-trailer is to be forfeited.
"The federal conviction of Javier Leon sends a strong message to criminals that we take methamphetamine trafficking very seriously in the Eastern District of Arkansas," Barden said. "The DEA will continue working with our law enforcement partners and pursue those who threaten our communities with the distribution of methamphetamine and other illegal and dangerous drugs."
The statutory penalty for possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine is not less than 10 years’ imprisonment, not more than life, a $10,000,000 fine, or both.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA, Arkansas State Police, Little Rock Police Department, and Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Givens and Michael Gordon.