Keith Brown, a repeat offender, has been sentenced to 209 months in federal prison for leading a criminal organization responsible for numerous pharmacy burglaries across several states. Jonathan D. Ross, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentencing by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.
Brown was indicted alongside 41 others on November 8, 2023, following a superseding indictment issued on July 2, 2024. He faced six charges related to the burglaries and pleaded guilty on September 4, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and money laundering.
The investigation revealed Brown's involvement in a drug trafficking network with gang members from Houston's 5th Ward. Over 96,000 tablets of Schedule II controlled substances were stolen from pharmacies nationwide, including in Arkansas. The street value of these drugs is estimated at $1.6 million in Arkansas alone. Authorities also seized firearms and valuables worth over $400,000.
Between July 24, 2021, and November 13, 2022, Brown participated in at least 34 pharmacy burglaries across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, and Florida. The stolen drugs have an estimated street value exceeding $12 million.
Judge Miller sentenced Brown to serve his term without parole and ordered three years of supervised release post-incarceration. Restitution payments exceeding $250,000 will be required later to compensate affected pharmacies.
The trial for other defendants is set for April 7, 2025.
The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Marshals Service among others. Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Fields is prosecuting the case as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations.