LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Officials have arrested two leaders of a large-scale methamphetamine organization to 16 years and 8 months each in federal prison, plus five years of supervised release.
36-year-old Adan Mendoza of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced on July 19, and 37-year-old Brian I. Wilson of Little Rock, was sentenced on July 12.
Wilson and Mendoza were the lead defendants in a 20-count, nine-defendant indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on September 8, 2022.
According to reports, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began investigating the drug trafficking ring in central Arkansas around late 2021. They discovered that the ring was locally run by Wilson and supplied by Mendoza out of Dallas.
Wilson then either personally transported the drugs by car or had associates pick them up on a weekly basis before they distributed them to numerous people in Arkansas.
The DEA used confidential informants to purchase a kilogram of meth directly from Wilson on two occasions before eventually seizing five kilograms of meth and one kilogram of cocaine from him after a traffic stop on his way back from Dallas.
Mendoza is also reportedly involved in a separate federal conspiracy in Texas that began in 2019. During additional surveillance in Dallas, DEA agents witnessed Mendoza and an associate of Wilson (co-defendant Michael Odom) meet, and then leave with a large bag.
Following a high-speed chase with police, officials arrested Odom and recovered 2.8 kilograms of meth he had received from Mendoza.
All nine defendants in the case have pleaded guilty, including 47-year-old David Chad Lane of North Little Rock, who will have 96 months in prison, and 37-year-old Samuel L. Johnson of Little Rock, who faces 65 months in prison. A judge will sentence the remaining defendants at a later date.
In March 2024, Mendoza and Brian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine. Each defendant was held responsible for the distribution of between 5-15 kilograms of meth, a range which carried a 10-year minimum sentence, in their plea agreements.
The investigation was led by the DEA, with help from the Arkansas State Police, North Little Rock Police Department, Little Rock Police Department, Lonoke Sheriff’s Office, and Arkansas Community Correction.
