United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A Farmington man was sentenced Friday to 456 months (38 years) in federal prison without the possibility of parole, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $10,000 in fines on one count of Distribution of a Mixture or Substance that Contained Fentanyl Resulting in the Death of a Person. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing for Ethan Scott Driskill, 33, in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, on February 3, 2022, the Fayetteville Police Department responded to a 911 call that reported the location of a dead body in an apartment building on Mt. Sequoya. Upon arriving at the scene, officers located the deceased body of a 29-year-old adult male. Next to the deceased’s body, officers located a small amount of a white substance, later determined to be fentanyl, and a syringe. Shortly after, family members of the deceased contacted agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Fayetteville Resident Office, who launched a federal investigation.

DEA agents determined that on the night of January 31, 2022, the deceased and his girlfriend combined their money to purchase what they believed was heroin from Driskill. The drug transaction took place in the parking lot of a gas station located on Leverette Street in Fayetteville. Upon arriving back at the Mt. Sequoya apartment, the couple diluted some of the white substance with water and injected it into their bodies via a syringe. The following morning, the deceased drove his girlfriend to her place of work and told her that he would pick her up later that evening. However, he never returned and stopped responding to text messages and calls. 

On February 3, 2022, the girlfriend went to check on him and discovered his body. DEA agents were able to determine that upon returning to his apartment on the evening of February 1, 2022, the deceased male again injected himself with the fentanyl purchased from Driskill. Approximately nine minutes later, he fell to the floor, where his body remained until being discovered two days later.

During the ensuing investigation, DEA agents conducted two controlled purchases of fentanyl directly from Driskill. On or about February 12, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Driskill’s Farmington residence and located, among other items, approximately 730 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, 240 gross grams of fentanyl powder, and two firearms. Driskill and his co-conspirator, Amber Adair, were arrested. During a post-Miranda interview, Driskill admitted to selling fentanyl in both powder and counterfeit pill form in Northwest Arkansas. Driskill also admitted to the drug transaction that occurred at the Leverette gas station on January 31, 2022. At the time of this conduct, Driskill was under active supervision from Arkansas Probation and Parole based on a previous state felony conviction.

Other members of the drug trafficking organization indicted federally are as follows:

Amber Nichole Adair, 28, of Farmington, for aiding and abetting Ethan Driskill and others in the Possession of 40 grams or more of Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute. Adair was sentenced to 96 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release.

Marchello Stephano Oliver, 34, also of Farmington, pleaded guilty to Possession of 40 grams or more of Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute.  Oliver's sentencing date is set for September 21.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jarad Harper of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Little Rock Field Office made the announcement.

The DEA, Benton County Sheriff’s Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Bentonville Police Department, Rogers Police Department, Benton County Drug Unit, Farmington Police Department, Fayetteville Police Department, Springdale Police Department, 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force, Arkansas State Police, and the Arkansas National Guard Counter Drug Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Harris prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov (WDAR Case No. 5:22 CR 50032-001-003).

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