Noel man sentenced to 15 years for meth trafficking

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas)

A Noel, Missouri man was sentenced on Friday, March 1, to 180 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Distribution of 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 November 2022, detectives with the Benton County Drug Unit and special agents with Homeland Security Investigations received information that Lyle Russell White, age 46, was trafficking narcotics throughout the Northwest Arkansas area.

 

Law enforcement subsequently conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from White. In December 2022, investigators received information that White was in Bella Vista, Arkansas and was in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine. 

 White was later observed traveling as a passenger in a vehicle heading towards Missouri by a Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputy who recognized White from a separate traffic stop the week before. 

During that first traffic stop, White had attempted to consume controlled substances and to conceal the bags in which the substances were contained when the vehicle in which he was traveling was pulled over. 

 After recognizing White and witnessing a traffic infraction, the deputy conducted a traffic stop. In the vehicle, detectives discovered over 150 grams of actual methamphetamine. 

A criminal records check revealed that White has several prior convictions, including convictions for violations of controlled substance statutes, and that he was currently on release for another offense at the time he possessed the methamphetamine.

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

The Benton County Drug Unit and Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Eaton prosecuted the case.