United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - A Baxter County (Salem) man was sentenced yesterday to a total of 240 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Distribution of More Than Fifty Grams of Actual Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Hot Springs.

According to court documents, beginning in January of 2021 and into May of 2021, Special Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Hot Springs Police Department, Special Investigations Division, conducted multiple controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Michael Steven Benedict, age 45.  On April 21, 2021, the Special Agents conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine, four (4) stolen firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from Benedict.  The suspected methamphetamine was submitted to the DEA Southeast Laboratory and determined to be a total of 361.03 grams of actual methamphetamine.

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hot Springs Police Department, Special Investigations Division, investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Achorn prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.