Oklahoma Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Federal Prison For Drug Trafficking

FAYETTEVILLE – A Muskogee, Oklahoma man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, In July 2020, detectives with the Fourth Judicial Drug Task Force (DTF) initiated an investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine in the Northwest Arkansas area by Dervin Ward Foster Jr., age 31. 

On July 17, 2020, detectives with the DTF conducted surveillance on a hotel in Fayetteville and reported observing Foster’s vehicle.  Foster was observed carrying a green soft-sided ice chest into the hotel with him.  Shortly thereafter, Foster left the hotel carrying the same ice chest and entered his vehicle.

An officer with the Fayetteville Police Department initiated a traffic stop. After receiving probable cause, a search was conducted. The search resulted in officers locating a loaded .40 caliber pistol, two vacuum sealed bags of methamphetamine weighing approximately 2,000 grams and approximately $6,000.00 in U.S. currency.

A search of Foster’s hotel room resulted in officers locating approximately 806 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, packaging materials, rubber gloves and $4,980.00 in U.S. currency.

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

The Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force and the Fayetteville Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Harris prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.