Last member of Northwest Arkansas meth trafficking group sentenced

An Oklahoma man nicknamed “Misfit” was sentenced to more than 33 years in federal prison last week, the last member of a Northwest Arkansas drug trafficking organization to be sentenced in an investigation that began in September 2020.

Steven James Warner, 46, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks to 400 months of imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas announced Friday.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents began an investigation in September 2020 into a drug trafficking organization operating out of the Fayetteville area responsible for distributing methamphetamine, according to court records.

Investigators identified both Warner and Elmer Francis as leaders of the trafficking group, and Warner was further identified as a source of the methamphetamine supply.

Other members of the group sentenced for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine were:

• Elmer Nathaniel Francis, aka Nathan, 65, Cave Springs, Arkansas — 327 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Vincent James Burrough, 58, Spiro, Oklahoma — 270 months and five years supervised release.
• Charley Edward Rouell Jr., 52, Stigler, Oklahoma — 250 months  and five years supervised release.
• Danial Wayne Plack, 42, Fayetteville, Arkansas — 188 months and five years of supervised release.
• Michael Winberry, 52, Cave Springs, Arkansas — 180 months and four years of supervised release.
• Eunice Felicitas Cisneros, 44, Moreno Valley, California — 135 months and four years of supervised release.

Also sentenced as part of the methamphetamine ring were:

• Christie Michelle Yandell Warner, 49, Yukon, Oklahoma,  aiding and abetting in the distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine — 180 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
• Cassandra Claire Webb, 34, Fort Smith, Arkansas, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine — 60 months and three years supervised release.
• Landon Dale Thompson Jr., 42, Van Buren, Arkansas, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine — 87 months and three years of supervised release.
• Paul Eugene Wisdom, 34, Fayetteville, Arkansas, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine — 140 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Harris prosecuted the case for the United States.