Little Rock man sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

LITTLE ROCK — Edmond Quatrell Blue, a multi-convicted felon caught with more than a kilogram of fentanyl, will spend the next 18 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by United States District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr.
In addition to the 18 years’ imprisonment, Judge Marshall sentenced Blue, 33, of Little Rock, Arkansas, to five years of supervised release. Blue was indicted on April 5, 2023, in a one-count indictment charging possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and pleaded guilty on July 29, 2024. There is no parole in the federal system.
An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed that on June 10, 2022, DEA agents conducted surveillance on Blue near the area of an apartment complex on Napa Valley Drive in Little Rock. During the surveillance, DEA agents observed a red Mazda pull into the parking lot with Blue arriving in the parking lot a short time later. Blue exited his vehicle and got in the back seat of the Mazda. A short time later, Blue exited the Mazda holding a plastic McDonald’s bag and walked to an unknown apartment.
Blue was then observed leaving the area but returning later in the afternoon in a black Ford F-250. He then went inside an apartment and returned to the Ford F-250 with a purple duffle bag. Blue put the duffle bag into the black Ford F-250 and left the area in the passenger seat of the truck. The Arkansas State Police (ASP) stopped the truck for a traffic violation at the front entrance of an apartment complex near Kanis and Barrow Road.

Blue exited the passenger side of the truck with the purple duffle bag and fled on foot, running west through the complex. A DEA Task Force Officer (TFO) who observed Blue flee drove to the west side of the complex where he observed Blue throw the purple duffle bag into a construction dumpster. Officers pursued Blue on foot, while the TFO climbed into the construction dumpster to retrieve the purple duffle bag. In the duffle bag the TFO found a plastic McDonald’s bag that contained a large plastic bag of a solid white powder substance and a “brick” or kilogram of a solid white powder substance, which were tested and confirmed by the DEA to be 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl. Officers located Blue hiding in a vacant apartment and took him into custody.
Blue’s prior criminal history includes felony convictions for possession of cocaine with the purpose to deliver, multiple convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia, multiple convictions for possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin, illegal possession of a firearm, and felony fleeing.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA with assistance from ASP and the Little Rock Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Crews.