NW Democrat-Gazette

Drug trafficker’s wife sentenced to federal prison

DALE ELLIS

LITTLE ROCK — The wife of a man who was recently sentenced to life in prison on a conviction for drug trafficking and racketeering was herself sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for drug conspiracy.

Kristin Millsap, 53, of Little Rock, the wife of convicted drug trafficker Marcus Millsap, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker. Kristin Millsap waived indictment in May 2022 and was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to distribute between 50 and 200 grams of methamphetamine from May 2017 through the following October. She pleaded guilty that same day to the charge.

According to the plea agreement, between the months of May and October 2017, one unnamed co-conspirator procured approximately three ounces of methamphetamine on three separate occasions from Kristin Millsap with money provided by a second unnamed co-conspirator.

During often emotional testimony, Millsap asked Baker to sentence her to probation to allow her to care for her two children, a 16-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.

According to a sentencing memorandum filed April 25 by Millsap’s attorney, Joe Denton of Little Rock, Millsap had not violated any terms of her release following a detention hearing the same day as her plea after Baker had determined she was qualified for release due to the extraordinary circumstance of having to care for her minor children.

Millsap testified to the struggles she had faced since her husband was arrested in 2016 and held in pretrial detention until his conviction in September 2021 on charges of drug conspiracy, attempted murder and racketeering following a three-week jury trial. After the trial, in which numerous former associates testified against him, Marcus Millsap was remanded to custody until his sentencing a week ago by Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr.

Kristin Millsap testified that her son requires close supervision to monitor an eating disorder he is diagnosed with and is undergoing treatment for. Asked how long that treatment might continue, she had no answer.

“It could be a long time,” she said. “It could be 10 years, it could be three years, they don’t know. It’s just according to how he starts eating.”

To maintain his health, Kristin Millsap said, her son requires nutrition shakes for the required intake of protein and assorted vitamins and minerals healthy people ingest in their daily diet and she keeps a close eye on his food intake as well.

“If I didn’t he would not eat anything,” she said. “He loves the shakes though; that’s the only thing keeping him from getting sicker.”

Denton argued that sentencing Millsap to prison would place an undue hardship on the rest of her family and would deprive her children of a stabilizing influence. He said Millsap’s conduct since her guilty plea showed that she had been rehabilitated.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti asked Baker to sentence Millsap within the guideline sentencing range of 41 to 51 months in prison, saying the government purposely did not add several sentencing enhancements it could have justified that would have likely resulted in a substantially higher guideline range.

“Any other benefit is unwarranted,” she said, adding that many parents of young children have gone to prison.

“Those are the choices that were made by Ms. Millsap,” Mazzanti said.

After Baker announced that she was considering a sentence of 1 year and 1 day, saying that, given all the circumstances, “that’s where I’m at,” Mazzanti tried another tack.

“I understand the court’s analysis, and I understand where the court is coming from,” Mazzanti said. “But at the same time I think it undervalues her prior criminal history, I think it undervalues the seriousness of the offense and it doesn’t fully appreciate the benefits she’s already been given by virtue of the plea agreement.”

Mazzanti said she would maintain her objection to the downward variance but said if Baker was set on that sentence she would also ask that she consider a sufficient term of supervised release for her youngest child to reach the age of 18 before Millsap gets out from under federal supervision.

“I want to protect her kids from her,” the prosecutor said.

Baker acquiesced and ordered Millsap to serve 10 years on supervised release after she leaves prison.

Voices

en-us

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.nwaonline.com/article/282179360470476

WEHCO Media