Two Arkansas men convicted on methamphetamine, cocaine conspiracies across multiple states

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — A federal jury has convicted two Arkansas men and a California man involved in methamphetamine and cocaine conspiracies that spanned from California to Texas to Arkansas, involving multiple pounds of drugs.

The trial, spanning six days, ended Tuesday evening with guilty verdicts for 54-year-old Bruce McArthur Smith, of Hesperia, Calif., 54-year-old Kevin Langel, of Pine Bluff, and 71-year-old Larry Rogers, of Benton.

The three men were initially indicted in November 2022, with a federal grand jury returning a Superseding Indictment on January 6, 2026. Smith was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.

Langel and Rogers were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, with Langel’s charge involving more than five kilograms of cocaine and Rogers’ charge involving more than 500 grams, but less than five kilograms of cocaine.

Evidence proved the controlled substances being sold by the three men were ultimately purchased from 58-year-old Roderick Toney, of Little Rock.

Toney pleaded guilty on February 7, 2025, to conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Toney is awaiting sentencing.

At the trial, the prosecution presented phone calls between Smith and Toney that detailed multiple methamphetamine transactions.

The investigation revealed that Smith knew individuals in Pine Bluff and came to Arkansas multiple times during the conspiracy period of 2020 through 2022.

Toney received a large amount of methamphetamine directly from Smith at an apartment complex in Little Rock several times during the period.

In June and July 2022, Toney was purchasing kilograms of Cocaine from Rogers.

Evidence detailed Toney and Rogers’ movements on July 14, 2022, when Rogers obtained money from a relative of Toney’s at a car wash, and proceeded to travel to a business on Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock, where he met Langel and obtained a kilogram of cocaine.

In addition to evidence that Langel was the source of supply of cocaine that Rogers obtained for Toney, the prosecution presented evidence that Langel was involved in numerous kilogram transactions of cocaine sourced from Houston and Dallas in late 2022 and early 2023.

All men were detained following the jury’s verdict and will be sentenced at a later time.

Smith and Langel’s conspiracy charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years, with a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a minimum of five years’ supervised release to follow. Rogers’ charge carries a minimum of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years, and four years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.