Texas Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years for Distributing More Than Five Grams of Methamphetamine

TEXARKANA, AR—Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Claudie J. Miller, Jr., age 42, of Desoto, Texas, was sentenced today on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Miller was sentenced to 140 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release. The sentencing took place before the Honorable Susan O. Hickey in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “With this sentence, a major supplier that brought large quantities of drugs into the Texarkana area has now been put out of business. We appreciate the many man-hours and dedicated investigative work by the agencies involved to assure that this defendant was today brought to justice. Our office will continue to aggressively prosecute drug trafficking crimes so that the residents of Southwestern Arkansas and the Western District of Arkansas can live without the fear of violence that comes with this type of criminal activity.”

“Today’s sentence of 140 months sends a strong message to those who would supply methamphetamine in Southern Arkansas,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge David Resch. “The FBI and our partners in law enforcement will work together to disrupt drug organizations by aggressively investigating those large scale suppliers who choose to bring these illegal drugs into our communities.”

According to court records, beginning in December 2011, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization involved in distributing pound quantities of methamphetamine in the Waldo, Arkansas area. Claudie Miller was identified as the primary source of supply for methamphetamine in the drug trafficking organization. Over the course of the investigation, agents intercepted numerous wire and electronic communications between Miller and co-conspirators discussing the distribution of methamphetamine and the collection of drug debts. Additionally, officers conducted two separate traffic stops on vehicles of Miller and co-conspirators. During a search of the vehicles, agents seized approximately $147,000 total in U.S. currency as proceeds of Miller’s illegal drug activities. Miller pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on July 2, 2013.

This case was investigated by the Little Rock FBI Division and El Dorado RA Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Quinn prosecuted the case for the United States.