Arkansas woman sentenced to 23 years for drug trafficking, money laundering

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led an investigation resulting in a 23-year sentence for an Arkansas woman convicted in the Western District of Arkansas for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering.

In addition to the 280-month prison sentence, Jessica Marie Harcrow, 40, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, in August of 2019, agents with HSI Fayetteville received information that Harcrow was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine into the Northwest Arkansas area from Oklahoma.

In August and September of 2019, HSI special agents conducted multiple controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Harcrow in Decatur, Arkansas. On July 14, 2020, Harcrow used proceeds from drug trafficking to obtain a cashier’s check for $26,000; she then used the check to purchase a parcel of land.

On May 14, 2021, agents executed a search warrant on a residence owned by Harcrow in Delaware County, Oklahoma. During the search, law enforcement located and seized approximately five pounds of methamphetamine, a firearm, multiple plastic baggies, and a digital scale.

In August 2021, the defendant gave a voluntary interview and admitted to distributing methamphetamine to three other members of her drug trafficking organization. She further admitted that drug trafficking was her primary source of income. At sentencing, Harcrow was determined to be the leader of her drug trafficking organization and held responsible for seizures of over 5 kilograms of actual methamphetamine.

HSI Fayetteville, the Benton County Drug Unit, and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sydney Butler prosecuted the case. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.