TEXARKANA - Four men were sentenced in a 2011 drug-trafficking investigation called Operation Stateline Sweep, a Thursday news release from the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas said.

Those sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in Texarkana were included a 190-count indictment filed in September 2011, which named 66 defendants.

Aarius Cooks, 24, of Texarkana, Texas, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine, the release said. Cooks received a harsher sentence after the court found that he had obstructedjustice by committing perjury during the investigation.

The news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge said Cooks is a member of the criminal enterprise known as “Four Block,” which operates as a drug-trafficking organization in and around Texarkana.

Over the course of the conspiracy, Cooks and other co-conspirators distributed or intended to distribute over 280 grams of crack cocaine, the releases said. Cooks was identified as the right-hand man of co-defendant Jamondo Lewis, who was the primary distributor of crack cocaine for the organization, the release said. Lewis was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for the same offensein June.

Willie Ray Gilliam, 28, of Nashville, was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for distributing crack cocaine. Gilliam has two prior felony convictions for controlled substance offenses, the release said.

Taveas Green, 31, of Texarkana, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 4 years of supervised release for distributing more than 28 grams of crack cocaine, the release said.

Willie Tatum, 27, also of Texarkana, was sentenced to more than 3 years in prison and 4 years of supervised release for distributing crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a public housing authority facility, the release said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 18 on 09/01/2013