Area man is sentenced to 20-year term in meth case

A Hope, Ark., man was sentenced to 20 years Monday by a federal judge in Texarkana for conspiring with others to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine.
LaQuan Darrell Haynes, aka "Quan" and "Lil' Haynes," appeared with Dallas lawyer Michael Todd for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in an Arkansas-side courtroom of Texarkana's downtown federal building Monday afternoon. Haynes, 30, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic meth at a hearing last year.
Hickey explained to Haynes that his designations as a career offender and as a leader or organizer of a criminal conspiracy contributed to the lengthy punishment. Federal guidelines actually prescribed a sentence of 30 years to life.
"When looking at his criminal history, by and large, Mr. Haynes' convictions all have to do with drugs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wulff said.
Wulff said the government recommended the 20-year term because Haynes' rap sheet is absent convictions for violent behavior.
Hickey noted that while investigators reported Haynes was known to carry a pistol and possess an assault rifle, he has never been accused of using them.
"I believe your conduct could warrant a 360-month sentence," Hickey said. "This offense involved the distribution of methamphetamine on a very large scale. These drugs promote crime your conduct has had a horrible effect on your community and your family."
Haynes and three other men are named in an eight-count indictment handed down by a grand jury in the Texarkana division of the Western District of Arkansas accusing them of trafficking meth in the Hope, Ark., area at the least from 2012 to 2013.
Lamario Henderson, aka "Juiceman," pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine last year and received a 27-month sentence. Billy Florence, aka "Carty," is scheduled for sentencing Tuesday morning before Hickey.
Co-defendant James Block, aka "Booty," pleaded guilty to a lesser conspiracy charge last year with the help of Federal Public Defender Tiffany Fields. Block, 26, was sentenced Monday afternoon to six years.
Fields said that Block has been arrested repeatedly since reaching adulthood and asked Hickey to recommend he receive treatment for substance abuse while serving time.
"He has a strong problem with drugs, he needs rehabilitation," Fields said. "He knows that if he (does not mend his ways), he will spend more time behind bars than he has lived in the free world."
Hickey warned Block of the consequences of continuing his criminal lifestyle.
"You've been to prison in Texas and Arkansas but it didn't seem to make an impression on you," Hickey said. "If you keep selling drugs, this is going to be your fate-forever."
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