Three Malvern residents and a fourth from Hot Springs have been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison combined after being convicted of drug trafficking.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas, Detectives with the 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force began an investigation into alleged drug trafficking in 2019 and between January and June, made several controlled purchases of methamphetamine from John Rickey Stringer, 36, and other members of his organization.
In addition to Stringer, Kenneth Traylor, 60, Krista Graves, 27, all of Malvern and Joshua Tolbert, 40. Of Hot Springs were charged in the investigation.
Stringer was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine,; Traylor was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison on one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine; Graves was sentenced to 30 months In federal prison on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and Tolbert was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on one count of aiding and abetting in the distribution of methamphetamine.
The four were sentenced by Judge Susan O. Hickey of the U.S. District Court at Hot Springs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Achorn and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Daniels prosecuted the case.
