News Release
January 12 , 2005

Drug Defendent Sentenced To Federal Prison In Eastern District Of Oklahoma

JAN 12 - MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - United States Attorney Sheldon J. (Shelly) Sperling announced that on January 11, 2005, VALENCIA EUGENEA FOLSOM, age 39, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, at Muskogee, by U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White. FOLSOM was sentenced to a term of 33 months in the Bureau of Prisons and 4 years of supervised release.

FOLSOM had earlier pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. On July 15, 2004, FOLSOM was charged by the Grand Jury sitting in and for the Eastern District of Oklahoma along with three co-defendants in an indictment alleging conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. Two of the co-defendants, Jackie Howard McGehee and Harold Randall Plank, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Defendant Stacey Matthew Rhodes pled guilty and was sentenced on December 16, 2004 to a term of 5 years in the Bureau of Prisons, and 4 years of supervised release

According to Mike Littlefield, the Assistant United States Attorney representing the government in this case, the charges arise from an investigation by Special Agents and investigators from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Pocola Police Department, Fort Smith Police Department, LeFlore County District Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs who participated in this extensive investigation. The task force deployment began in early November, 2003. Acting upon the request of then LeFlore County District Attorney Rob Wallace, the federal, state and local prosecutors and investigators assembled a team of law enforcement agencies from across the region to launch an investigation of unprecedented scope in this area. The operation was named “Hell on the Border,” for (hanging) Judge Isaac Parker’s jail in Fort Smith.