Arkansas DEA Defense Lawyers

Arkansas DEA Defense Lawyers

Twenty-seven arrests. Little Rock. OCDETF operation. Your pharmacy just got raided. Medical practice under federal investigation. Maybe you’re one of the 27, maybe you’re next. Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm with over 50 years of combined experience. Our managing partner, Todd Spodek, has many, many years defending federal drug cases, including high-profile matters covered by NY Post, Newsweek, and Fox 5. Todd represented Anna Delvey and handled juror misconduct allegations in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. DEA already built their case. Eastern District of Arkansas. 95% conviction rate. That recent defendant with 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl? Eighteen years federal prison. No parole. This is Arkansas federal enforcement 2024. OCDETF investigation. Federal mandatory minimums.

Little Rock’s OCDETF Operations – 27 Arrests Signal New Enforcement Era

Does the DEA have lawyers? Entire prosecution teams. Arkansas – working overtime. March 2025 arrests. Started September 2023. Twenty-seven defendants trafficking hundreds of pounds of fentanyl through central Arkansas. DEA Little Rock District Office. FBI. U.S. Marshals. North Little Rock Police. Arkansas State Police. Multiple local departments.

Controlled purchases. Months of surveillance. Financial transactions traced. By the time arrests happened, they had everything. What are the new drug laws in Arkansas? Governor Sarah Sanders. Sweeping fentanyl legislation 2023. New “drug czar” coordinating enforcement. State legislature enhanced penalties. Harshest state for drug prosecutions. But here’s what many, many defendants don’t understand – DEA involvement means federal court. Eastern District of Arkansas. Little Rock courthouse. No state rules. Federal mandatory minimums. Federal sentencing guidelines. No parole.

Recent OCDETF operation scope – nineteen firearms seized. That triggers 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) enhancements. Firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Five years consecutive. Gun brandished? Seven years. Discharged? Ten years minimum. On top of drug charges. The $100,000 seized – evidence of proceeds. Money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Many, many Arkansas defendants don’t realize depositing drug money, even your own account, separate federal felony. Twenty years.

Minimum Sentence for Drugs in Federal Court?

Catastrophic.

That Little Rock defendant. 1.5 kilograms fentanyl. Eighteen years? Got off easy. Under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b). Four hundred grams fentanyl – ten years mandatory minimum. One kilogram? Twenty years minimum. Life possible. Not guidelines. Mandatory. Judge has zero discretion unless prosecution files substantial assistance.

What is the minimum sentence for drug possession? No simple possession federal court. Everything “possession with intent to distribute.” Five grams meth – five-year mandatory. Twenty-eight grams crack? Five years. Five hundred grams cocaine? Five years. One kilogram heroin? Ten years mandatory. Class D felony Arkansas? Irrelevant. DEA arrests you, federal court. United States Sentencing Guidelines. Brutal numbers.

Theotis Thornton. November 2024. Five hundred grams methamphetamine. One kilogram PCP. Firearms. Meth – five years mandatory. PCP – ten more years. Firearms – five years consecutive. Twenty years minimum. Before judge opens guidelines. Federal system – serve 85%. No early release. Twenty years means seventeen years. Minimum. Many, many defendants learn too late.

Can You Defend Yourself?

Technically yes. Suicide in federal court. Eastern District specific local rules. Complex discovery. 95% conviction rate trial. Who pays for defense lawyers? Can’t afford? Court appoints federal public defender. Multi-defendant OCDETF cases – 27-person Little Rock operation – conflicts of interest. Many defendants get appointed counsel. Might not have federal experience. Private attorneys understand mandatory minimums. Safety valve. Substantial assistance. Difference between 18 years and life.

Timeline crushes. Arrested coordinated early-morning raids. Initial appearance 72 hours. Detention hearing. Government argues flight risk, danger. OCDETF cases – they win. Held without bail. Discovery weeks, months. Twenty-seven defendants – imagine evidence volume. Surveillance. Wiretaps. Financial records. Cooperating witnesses. Meanwhile cooperation race begun. First flip, best deal. Defendant number 15? Everyone ahead trading information.

Safety valve 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). One escape mandatory minimums. Nearly impossible qualify. No priors. No violence. No leadership. Complete truthful disclosure. Many, many defendants think they qualify. Prosecutors argue gun – even legal, unrelated – disqualifies. Refusing name suppliers? Failure provide truthful disclosure. Window closes fast Eastern District.

Federal Defense Strategy Arkansas Drug Cases

Possession controlled substance Arkansas? Irrelevant. DEA charges federally. I-40 corridor Little Rock. Major trafficking route. DEA assumes drugs near I-40 interstate distribution. Rural pharmacy burglaries. Increasingly common Arkansas. Federal attention controlled substances cross state lines. Memphis connection. Two hours Little Rock. Tennessee federal prosecutors want you too. Multiple districts. Multiple charges. Minimums stacking.

Unlike other law firms. State court focus. Limited federal experience. Spodek Law Group nationwide federal expertise Arkansas cases. Todd Spodek handled complex multi-defendant conspiracies. OCDETF prosecutions. Mandatory minimum negotiations. Across country. Arkansas federal enforcement. Governor Sanders 2023 initiatives. New level aggressive prosecution. Eastern District judges. Sentencing patterns. Which prosecutors consider pre-indictment.

Time enemy. OCDETF investigation 27 arrests? Started September 2023. DEA building over year. Your communications. Financial records. Associates cooperating. Every day wait. More evidence. More co-defendants flip. Options disappear. Available 24/7. Federal arrests dawn. Weekends. Holidays. DEA strikes Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Fort Smith. Anywhere Arkansas. Need immediate federal defense. Many, many people call too late. After talked. After consented searches. After co-defendants made deals.

888-553-3593.