FAYETTEVILLE — The final member of a Northwest Arkansas drug trafficking organization was sentenced Thursday to federal prison for crimes related to the Distribution of Fentanyl. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearings for the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court documents, beginning in August of 2021, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating out of the Fayetteville Division responsible for distributing fentanyl pills. During the course of their investigation, investigators identified Martin Platero as the leader of this local group. The pills distributed by the Platero group contained fentanyl and were made or pressed to look like M 30 Oxycontin prescription pills.
Those members of the drug trafficking organization indicted federally have been sentenced as follows:
Martin Platero: age 21, Rogers, Arkansas — Possession of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute — 210 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.
Ulises Valenzuela-Hernandez: age 25, Anaheim, California — Aiding and Abetting in the Possession of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute — 135 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.
Walker Bradley Michael: age 21, Rogers, Arkansas — Possession of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute — 151 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.
Jaden Leeteril McCoy: age 20, Bentonville, Arkansas — Distribution of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Fentanyl — 87 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.
Macy Renee Patterson: age 19, Centerton, Arkansas — Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises — 18 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
The Drug Enforcement Administration Fayetteville investigated the case, and were assisted by the following agencies: ATF, Rogers Police Department, Benton County Drug Unit, Bentonville Police Department, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
This investigation was part of the DEA’s “One Pill Can Kill” initiative, for more information visit DEA’s website: https://www.dea.gov/onepill.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Harris prosecuted the case for the United States.
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