TEXARKANA – A West Texas man was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for methamphetamine trafficking. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing, which took place in the United States District Court in Texarkana.
According to court records, on September 28, 2020, Ray Cornelius Calvert, age 43, of El Paso, Texas was the driver of a rental vehicle stopped by the Arkansas State Police on Interstate 30, in Hempstead County. During the traffic stop, a Trooper asked the vehicle’s renter, passenger Anita Marie Hughes, age 47, for consent to search it, which she granted. During the ensuing search, Troopers found approximately 1.5 pounds of pure methamphetamine in the vehicle, which Calvert and Hughes had been transporting to Memphis, Tennessee, for distribution. Subsequent investigation also revealed that, at the time of his arrest in Arkansas, Calvert was on pre-trial release for a separate federal methamphetamine indictment then pending in another state.
On July 21, 2023, Calvert pleaded guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute in the Western District of Arkansas. Hughes also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 72 months in prison in January 2022, followed by 5 years of supervised release.
