Jonathan D. Ross U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Maurice Morning, a 33-year-old resident of Little Rock with multiple prior felony drug convictions, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The sentence was announced by Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and handed down by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.
Morning was indicted on January 7, 2025, by a federal grand jury on charges including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty on October 22, 2025, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In addition to his prison term, Morning received five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to investigators, deputies from the Saline County Sheriff’s Office went to serve a warrant at a residence on July 10, 2024. Upon arrival, they observed Morning placing an object into a blue Ford truck. Because Morning was already on federal supervised release and subject to search waivers, deputies searched him and found methamphetamine as well as keys belonging to the truck. A further search revealed more methamphetamine inside the vehicle and $3,109 in cash stored in the glove compartment.
Later that month on July 29, officers used a confidential informant (CI) for a controlled purchase operation targeting Morning. The CI attempted to buy fentanyl and methamphetamine; while Morning said he did not have fentanyl available, he offered methamphetamine for sale instead. Officers conducted surveillance at a hotel where Morning arrived for the transaction but tried to flee upon seeing law enforcement and attempted to destroy evidence. Authorities recovered $3,411 from his person along with about 28 grams of methamphetamine; additional items such as a scale and $1,700 were found during a search of his truck.
Because Morning had two previous felony convictions related to drug distribution offenses—making him legally classified as a career offender—he faced an enhanced sentence under federal guidelines. His criminal record includes an August 2, 2019 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm resulting in over five years’ imprisonment followed by three years' supervised release; he committed this latest offense less than four months after leaving prison. Additional convictions include charges involving cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, drug paraphernalia, and other controlled substances.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation with support from local agencies including the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Little Rock Police Department, and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office.
"Maurice Morning...will spend the next 144 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine," stated Jonathan D. Ross.
