A man known as “the mechanic” in a Helena-West Helena auto shop that served as a front for a massive drug-trafficking operation was given a break Wednesday after a judge learned he was relieved to be arrested and have the chance to escape a life of “constant chaos.”
Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a 2- to 2 1/2-year prison sentence for Donnie Mitchell, 50, who on Sept. 14 admitted being part of the drug ring that channeled hundreds of pounds of cocaine and marijuana into the Arkansas Delta region in 2010 and 2011.
But U.S. District Judge James Moody instead imposed a sentence of time served, with a federal prosecutor’s blessing, after defense attorney Jim Wyatt of Little Rock described how the lifelong Helena-West Helena man became caught up and eventually trapped in the drug-dealing lifestyle simply because of the environment in which he grew up.
Mitchell was ensnared in an FBI-led investigation dubbed “Operation Delta Blues” that culminated in the indictments of about 70 people, most of whom were arrested in simultaneous predawn raids on Oct. 11, 2011.
Since then, most of the defendants have pleaded guilty or otherwise been convicted, including ringleaders Sedrick Trice and Leon Edwards, for whom Mitchell worked at a shop called AC Customs.
At Mitchell’s sentencing hearing Wednesday, Wyatt said Mitchell and Trice grew up in the same neighborhood, and their families were close. He said that over the years, Trice endeared himself to Mitchell’s father, with whom Mitchell lived, by always calling him “sir,” and that Trice’s mother asked Donnie Mitchell to “keep an eye on” her son, creating a sense of obligation on Mitchell’s part.
“Mr. Mitchell’s problem is he’s a cocaine addict, and he had to have crack cocaine on a daily basis,” Wyatt said. “Mr. Mitchell got himself into this indictment because of his need for crack cocaine, and the fact that, to get cocaine, he had to do things for Mr. Trice.”
Trice was always in the Mitchell home, and because Mitchell’s father respected him so much, Mitchell “couldn’t make him leave,” Wyatt said.
“There was such constant chaos at this house because Mr. Trice was always there,” he said. He told the judge that one day, Mitchell’s father even fired a gun at his son, with the bullet grazing the younger Mitchell’s elbow.
After his arrest, Mitchell told Wyatt that the arrest “was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Wyatt said. He added that after local, state and federal law enforcement officers rounded up most of the indictees and began transporting them to jails, “He actually fell asleep on the bus because it was the first time he could relax and not have to worry about this any more.”
Wyatt said Mitchell has reported feeling better than ever physically since his arrest. He said that Mitchell was “not comfortable in his own speaking abilities,” and had asked Wyatt to speak for him.
Wyatt asked the judge to consider departing from the recommended guideline range of 24 to 30 months and place Mitchell on probation, or to allow some sort of “hybrid sentence” that would credit him for the 16 1/2 months he has already been jailed while awaiting trial and then sentencing.
Wyatt noted that if Mitchell were sentenced to prison, he would be eligible for serving the last 18 months in a halfway house. He said that Mitchell has a sister who is a school principal in Nashville, Tenn., and is willing to act as his guardian if Mitchell is permitted to live with her, under court supervision.
“By going to Nashville, Tennessee, it gets him far, far away from the element that got him into this situation,” Wyatt argued. He added that by moving Mitchell into an environment with a highly educated person, “It gives him a second chance.”
Given a chance to speak for himself, Mitchell stood up and told the judge in a voice that was at first barely audible: “I hope I can straighten up my life and do better for myself.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Peters acknowledged there was “no question that Mr. Trice was taking advantage of Mr. Mitchell” and that Mitchell “clearly does have a substance-abuse problem.”
She agreed that if Mitchell were sent to prison, he wouldn’t have enough time left to serve to qualify for the prison drug-rehabilitation program.
Moody noted that Mitchell’s only prior convictions were misdemeanors, and said: “I can’t see that that much could be accomplished by sending Mr. Mitchell to the Bureau of Prisons for six to eight months, and he’s likely to spend most of that in a halfway house, anyway. His sister could give him more meaningful supervision.”
With that, Moody sentenced Mitchell to “time served” and imposed three years of probation, conditioned that he serve the first eight months on home confinement with electronic monitoring at his sister’s house, under the supervision of federal probation officers in Tennessee. Moody delayed Mitchell’s release for two weeks, however, to give probation officers in Little Rock time to confirm that the living situation is agreeable to Mitchell’s sister.
The judge also ordered Mitchell to undergo drug treatment and mental-health counseling.
“This is an opportunity for you,” Moody said, looking directly at Mitchell. “Understand, I can order you into the Bureau of Prisons if you fail to comply.”
Moody said he would require that Mitchell’s sister pick him up from the Pulaski County jail upon his official release and take him directly to her home.
When Wyatt asked the judge whether he would permit Mitchell to be away from his sister’s home to work, if he can find a job, Moody replied, “I think it might be healthy for him to work.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/28/2013