FORT SMITH — An Arizona man was given 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release in federal court Wednesday on a drug trafficking charge.
Marc Antione Dion Stovall, 32, of Glendale, Ariz., was sentenced on one count of possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, according to the office of Duane Kees, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III presided over the sentencing hearing in Fort Smith.
Stovall’s plea agreement states at 2:49 p.m. March 1 Arkansas State Police spoke with the driver and passenger of a silver Nissan Pathfinder at the Van Buren rest area on Interstate 40. Stovall was the front-seat passenger, with the driver being a woman.
An Arkansas State Police dog was called to the location to search the vehicle. The dog alerted to the odor of narcotics and the vehicle was searched, which revealed about five-and-a-half kilograms of suspected cocaine in a thermal insulated grocery bag in vehicle. A field test showed a positive result for cocaine.
During an interview with police, Stovall said the cocaine belonged to him, according to the plea agreement.
Stovall was indicted on the possession with intent to distribute charge, as well as a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on March 14, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to the possession with intent to distribute charge Aug. 22, with the other charge dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
The case was investigated by Arkansas State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a news release from Kees. Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case.