Kevin Langel, Bruce Smith, and Larry Rogers were sentenced to a combined 29 years in federal prison for their roles in a central Arkansas drug-trafficking organization, according to a July 28 announcement by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky handed down the sentences following guilty verdicts after a six-day trial in February.
Langel, 54, of Pine Bluff, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking dozens of kilograms of cocaine from Texas to Arkansas. Smith, 55, of Hesperia, California, received ten years in prison and five years of supervised release for trafficking multiple pounds of methamphetamine from California to Arkansas. Rogers, 71, of Benton, was given five years in prison followed by four years of supervised release for brokering kilogram-quantity cocaine transactions between distributors in Little Rock.
The three men were among eighteen defendants indicted as part of an investigation into a drug conspiracy spanning California, Texas, and Arkansas that involved significant quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl. They were initially indicted in November 2022; a superseding indictment returned on January 6 charged Smith with conspiracy involving more than 500 grams of methamphetamine while Langel’s charge involved more than five kilograms and Rogers’ charge involved between 500 grams and five kilograms of cocaine.
Evidence at trial showed that Roderick Toney purchased controlled substances from the three men before redistributing them. Toney was sentenced on February 25 to over twelve years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges related to methamphetamine distribution and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The investigation revealed that Smith traveled several times from California during the period from 2020 through 2022 to deliver methamphetamine directly to Toney; during June and July 2022, Toney also purchased kilograms of cocaine from Rogers, who obtained his supply through Langel.
Judge Rudofsky considered Langel’s criminal history—including prior convictions for attempted murder and battery—in determining his sentence. The case resulted from an interagency effort led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Orleans Field Division alongside local police departments as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159 targeting criminal cartels operating within U.S. borders.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District prosecutes federal crimes across forty-one counties organized into Northern, Central and Delta divisions; it also manages civil litigation on behalf of the United States while promoting community safety through victim assistance programs, according to its official website.