LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Nine people appeared in court on Wednesday after they were arrested Tuesday morning on charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl between June 2022 and March 2023.
According to reports, 40-year-old Andre Kimble of Little Rock and nine other people were named in the latest round of indictments related to “Operation Hartbreak Kid.”
He allegedly led a large-scale fentanyl-trafficking organization where the drug was sold from several motels in the Little Rock Area. The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation alongside the Little Rock Police Department, the North Little Rock Police Department, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections, and the Arkansas State Police.
During the investigation, police seized eight guns and over $20,000. Many of the defendants that were charged have had multiple felony convictions and if they are convicted for this incident they face "enhanced penalties" for drug trafficking and the possession of firearms.
Among the defendants arrested were Kimble, as well as 64-year-old Jerry Wesley, 31-year-old Henry White, 43-year-old Eric James, 44-year-old Frankie Webb, 42-year-old Giovaughnie Criswell, 33-year-old Amethyst Schmued, 33-year-old Shelton Graham and 40-year-old Billy Joe Cooksey.
Police state that one of the defendants is still at large.
Asides from the drug conspiracy charges, some defendants also face charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and money laundering
An indictment contains only allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.