United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas

10/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/17/2024 08:13

Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to More Than 75 Years Combined in Federal Prison

FAYETTEVILLE - The final member of a Northwest Arkansas drug trafficking organization was sentenced to federal prison for crimes related to the Distribution of Methamphetamine. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearings for the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, beginning in approximately October of 2022, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), along with Investigators with the Fourth Judicial Drug Task Force (JDTF) initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in the Fayetteville Division responsible for distributing methamphetamine. During the course of their investigation, investigators identified Charles Grinder as a leader of this local group. Grinder was further identified as an incarcerated, gang member who was a source of supply for methamphetamine into the Western District of Arkansas.

Those members of the drug trafficking organization indicted federally have been sentenced as follows:

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Charles Grinder: age 44, McAlester, Oklahoma - Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of More than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine - 420 months imprisonment and 5-year term of supervised release.

Chelsea Dray: age 30, Bentonville, Arkansas - Distribution of Methamphetamine- 96 months months and 3-year term of supervised release.

Paige Johnson: age 33, Claremore, Oklahoma - Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine - 87 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

James Johnson: age 40, Wagoner, Oklahoma - Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine - 188 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

Destiny McGinnnis: age 29, Stillwater, Oklahoma - Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of More than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine - 46 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

Christopher Outlaw: age 39, Tulsa, Oklahoma - Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of More than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine - 72 months imprisonment and 4-year term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations, Fayetteville Resident Office, Benton County Sheriff's Office, 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force, and the Washington County Sheriff's Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Briana Robbins and Kim Harris prosecuted the case for the United States.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.