U.S.

Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Eastern District of Arkansas

425 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 500 (501) 340-2600

Post Office Box 1229
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-1229

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 13, 2017
501-340-2600

U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Thyer Announces Resignation

LITTLE ROCKAs requested by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, United States

Attorney Christopher R. Thyer, 47, of Jonesboro, announced his resignation effective
March 10, 2017. Mr. Thyer, who has made serving the needs of the poor and crime-
affected citizens of eastern Arkansas a priority during his tenure, has been the United
States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas since December 31, 2010.

Patrick C. Harris, 64, of Little Rock, who has served as the First Assistant United
States Attorney for the past four years, assumed leadership of the office as Acting United
States Attorney effective immediately upon Mr. Thyers resignation.

Our laws and our law enforcement agencies are meant to do two things: to allow
citizens of the United States to fully realize the pursuit of peace and prosperity, and to
arrest and prosecute those who criminally interfere with those freedoms, said Mr. Thyer.
I have seen communities where drugs and violence have stolen even the freedom to go
for a walk or play in a park because of the brazenness of violent drug dealers. For more
than six years I have had the privilege of working with local, state and federal law
enforcement officers and prosecutors to fight these violent drug dealers. This has been a
highlight of my professional life for which I am thankful.

During his tenure, Mr. Thyer has led the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern
District of Arkansas in doing just that. He served on the executive board for the Gulf
Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, as well as the executive
board of the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force, and has been a key voice in expansion of
the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) in Arkansas. What Mr.
Thyer has said that he is most proud of is his offices work helping disadvantaged
communities to take back their neighborhoods from violent drug dealers. Under Mr.
Thyers leadership, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas has
succeeded in prosecuting many violent drug organizations.

In October 2011, less than a year after Mr. Thyer was sworn in, a Grand Jury
indicted 71 defendants in Operation Delta Blues, the first of many cases prosecuted by
the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas aimed at tackling the dual
epidemic of drugs and violence in eastern Arkansas and the Delta. Delta Blues
dismantled an international cocaine ring operating out of West Memphis, Helena, and
Marianna, that included five corrupt police officers. The case ended with the conspiracy
leader, Sedrick Trice, receiving a 40-year sentence, Demetrius Colbert, who shot an FBI
agent, receiving life plus 10 years in prison, and all police officers convicted. Other
operations in the same area included Operation Delta Crossroads (19 defendants) and
Operation Plastic Castle (47 defendants).

Under Mr. Thyers leadership, the crime-ridden areas where local police most
needed federal assistance received that assistance, including Mississippi, Craighead,
Crittenden, Phillips, and Lee counties. Since 2013, multiple joint operations between
local law enforcement and federal agencies such as the Arkansas State Police, DEA, FBI,
and ATF have resulted in arrests of hundreds of criminals and the dismantling of drug
networks in those areas. In the past three years in Blytheville alone, the U.S. Attorneys
Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas has teamed with the ATF, DEA, and FBI in
four major operations that resulted in the arrest of 127 individuals, including 70 in 2015s
Operation Blynd Justus. Also during Mr. Thyers tenure, his office successfully
prosecuted multiple cases involving Mexican drug cartel members.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas was on the
forefront of recognizing the opioid epidemic in Arkansas. In May 2015, Little Rock was
the regional hub of a national DEA effort dubbed Operation Pilluted. Mr. Thyers
office returned six indictments in which 113 defendants were charged, including five
doctors, four nurses, and five pharmacists. These multiple cartel and large-defendant drug
cases are why the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas has
routinely ranked among the top-producing OCDETF districts in the nation for its size.

The focus on partnership between federal and local law enforcement agencies has
been a hallmark of Mr. Thyers tenure. Four years ago, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the
Eastern District of Arkansas reinstituted and coordinated free training for local law
enforcement agencies. Under the leadership of Mr. Thyer, the office revamped the Law
Enforcement Coordinating Committees quarterly newsletter, focusing on activities and
achievements of local law enforcement agencies in the district.

In September 2016, Mr. Thyer hosted the national Violence Reduction Network
(VRN) 2016 Fall Summit in Little Rock and welcomed Attorney General Loretta Lynch,
who delivered opening remarks. The VRN, which focuses in Arkansas on the cities of
Little Rock and West Memphis, is a comprehensive approach to reducing violent crime in
communities around the country through a hands on approach between local and federal
agencies, furthering Mr. Thyers efforts in the use of collaborative law enforcement
approaches to tackle serious crime.

Mr. Thyers local outreach has not been limited to law enforcement agencies. The
U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas recently implemented the
districts first-of-its-kind reading partnership with the Little Rock School District.
Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) also regularly meet with prisoners in federal
correctional institutions as part of interdisciplinary prisoner reentry programs.

Combatting public corruption has also been a focus of the U.S. Attorneys Office
under Mr. Thyers leadership. Always emphasizing the need to earn and keep the public
trust, Mr. Thyer has overseen the prosecution of multiple corrupt political figures and law
enforcement officers, including:

Martha Shoffner, former Arkansas State Treasurer, who was sentenced to 30

months in prison for extortion and bribery after directing $2 billion in taxpayer
money in bond business to a broker for a series of $6,000 payments.
Former state judge Michael Maggio, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison
for accepting bribes.
Former state representative Hudson Hallum, who, along with West Memphis
City Councilman Phillip Wayne Carter and former West Memphis Police
Officer Sam Malone, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit election fraud in
what was the first case in the United States in which state election law
violations have been prosecuted under the Travel Act.
Lu Hardin, former University of Central Arkansas president, who pleaded
guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
Former Arkansas State Police Lieutenant Sedrick Reed, who was sentenced to
135 months in prison for his role in a cocaine conspiracy.
Former Little Rock police officer Mark Jones, who was sentenced to 104
months in prison for his role in a marijuana conspiracy.
 Former Searcy Police Chief Jeremy Clark, who resigned and pleaded guilty to
possession of hydrocodone.
Former Bald Knob Police Chief Erek Balentine, who pleaded guilty to
possession of a stolen firearm.
Former Saline County Sheriff Bruce Pennington, who pleaded guilty to wire
fraud.

Child exploitation is another area that has received top priority. Under Mr. Thyers
guidance, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas successfully
prosecuted the districts first human sex trafficking case, which resulted in defendant
Jermaine Roy receiving a 15-year prison sentence in 2013. Other sex-trafficking
convictions soon followed, including Amber Johnson (144 months), Andre Kimball (120
months), and Dana Deffenbaugh (pending sentencing).

Mr. Thyers office has been responsible for significant civil award settlements. In
2013, the U.S. Attorneys Office handled numerous cases involving complex issues of
medical treatment and alleged wrongful death, resulting in saving the government
approximately $27 million in damages in 2013 alone. In the past five years, the U.S.
Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas has recovered approximately $193
million in false claims settlements and civil enforcements, as well as more than $11.5
million in criminal and civil collections.

With a focus on prosecuting cases involving large-scale drug dealing, violent

crime, child exploitation, public corruption, healthcare and financial fraud, and civil
rights, some of the other notable prosecutions during Mr. Thyers time as United States
Attorney include:

To date, 14 people have been indicted in a wide-ranging scheme to steal U.S.

Department of Agriculture funds intended to feed hungry children. Eleven
people have pleaded guilty and admitted to stealing more than $10 million
from at-risk childrens feeding programs, and three are scheduled for trial in a
case that is believed to involve more than $20 million in fraud.
Wallando Onezine received a 10-year sentence for the distribution of heroin
which led to the deaths of two Cabot residents.
Jason Barnwell (20 years), Gary Dodson (15 years), Jake Murphy and Dustin
Hammond (54 months) all received significant sentences for civil rights crimes
after the firebombing of an interracial couples home.
 Lacey Moore received a 16-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay $12.5
million restitution after displacing 79 people by setting seven separate fires at
Forrest Place Apartments in Little Rock.
Dr. Robert Barrow was sentenced to a two-year term of imprisonment
following his guilty plea to healthcare fraud after admitting to $2.2 million in
fraudulent billing.
Stephen K. Parks was sentenced to over two years in prison for wire fraud and
forfeited money and property worth more than $9 million.
Kevin Lewis was sentenced to 121 months in prison for bank fraud and
ordered to pay $39.4 million in restitution.
Matthew Hiner received a 25-year prison sentence for sexual exploitation of a
minor by a parent.
Joshua Thornton received a 30-year prison sentence for production of child
pornography.

Prior to his federal appointment in 2010, Mr. Thyer had been a partner at Stanley &
Thyer, P.A., since 2007, and a partner at Halsey & Thyer, PLC from 2005 to 2007. Thyer
was with the Mooney Law Firm, P.A., from 1997 to 2005, and a solo practitioner from 1995
to 1997. Thyer also served in the Arkansas House of Representatives as a State
Representative for the 74th District from 2003 to 2009. Mr. Thyer graduated from Arkansas
State University in 1991 and from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1995.

Harris, whose distinguished career with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern
District of Arkansas has spanned the past 31 years, served as the U.S. Attorneys Office
First Assistant for the past four years and Criminal Chief for six years prior to that. He
attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and graduated from the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock and the William H. Bowen School of Law. Harris has also served
as an adjunct law professor at the Bowen School of Law for ten years.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of Arkansas and continue to
carry out the mission of this office, Harris said. I also want to thank Chris Thyer for his
commitment to this office for the past six years. I look forward to working with Attorney
General Jeff Sessions and the new administration as the Department of Justice renews
and strengthens its commitment to combat violent crime.

The United States Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Arkansas includes
five divisions and 41 counties within Arkansas. Its primary office is in Little Rock.

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