Fort Smith Man Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Role In Drug Trafficking Organization

Fort Smith, Arkansas - Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that William Joseph Alexander, aka “Weenie”, age 33, of Fort Smith, was sentenced today to 210 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Kids in Fort Smith and across our district deserve to grow up in an environment free from drug trafficking and the crime and violence it brings with it. The sentence announced today reinforces our commitment to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to prosecute and dismantle drug trafficking organizations across the Western District of Arkansas.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to work with our partners in law enforcement, in this case specifically the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Arkansas and the Drug Enforcement Administration,” stated Major Mark Hallum with the Fort Smith Police Department, “We are committed to strengthening our regional cooperation to bring to justice those who choose to engage in narcotics trafficking.”

According to court records, in November of 2013, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) learned that large quantities of methamphetamine were being distributed out of the Fort Smith, Arkansas area by a drug trafficking organization that involved William Alexander. During the investigation, agents learned that Alexander was obtaining large quantities of methamphetamine from sources of supply outside of the Western District of Arkansas. On July 13, 2014, agents with the DEA followed Alexander and another co-conspirator, Rosa Sharon, from Oklahoma to Fort Smith. At approximately 2:00 a.m., an officer with the Fort Smith Police Department conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle being driven by Rosa Sharon in which Alexander was a passenger. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, the officer located approximately seven pounds of methamphetamine. Alexander and Sharon were then arrested and taken to the Fort Smith Police Department for interviews. After being advised of his Miranda rights, Alexander admitted to possessing the methamphetamine located in his vehicle with the intent to distribute it to others. Alexander pleaded guilty to the charge of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute on November 24, 2014. Alexander’s co-conspirator, Rosa Sharon, age 50 of Fort Smith, pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine on November 24, 2014, and will be sentenced at a later date. Randal Jernigan, age 31 of Fort Smith, a co-defendant in the case, was arrested on July 15, 2014, and pleaded guilty to one count of Distribution of Methamphetamine on September 30, 2014. Jernigan was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Fort Smith Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Clay Fowlkes prosecuted the case for the United States.

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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website@ www.pacer.gov