RECORDS: PROPERTY SEIZED FOR DRUGS

Federal authorities have seized 159 acres in Logan County from a drug
trafficker who tried to have a local law enforcement officer killed after
the officer arrested "street-level" dealers and users, according to an
affidavit in the case.

Daniel Morris on Feb. 11 pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a
firearm in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith. He is awaiting an Aug. 15
sentencing date. Morris was arrested Aug. 30, 2001, after he delivered
about two pounds of marijuana to an undercover agent in exchange for a
fully automatic M-16 rifle, according to an affidavit in the case.

Federal prosecutors have seized the Logan County land at 3273 Blythe Road
near Booneville because it was purchased with proceeds from marijuana
sales, the affidavit states. On June 24, U.S. District Judge Jimm Hendren
approved the government's motion for summary judgment in the related civil
lawsuit that asked that the land be forfeited. According to authorities,
Morris purchased the land on April 25, 2000, from Ernie and Inez Pyles for
$91,425 and placed the land in the name of his sister, Nina Gwaltney of
Sherman, Texas, and his 6-year-old daughter, Frankie Ann Morris.

The Pyleses financed the sale and told federal authorities that Morris
delivered money to them in large increments - once in an ice cream bucket -
and paid off the entire balance by July 12, 2001.

After his arrest, Morris admitted that drug money allowed him to buy the
land. "I paid for the real estate in cash payments which I acquired from my
involvement in a marijuana business," Morris stated in his affidavit.

Federal officials refused to reveal which law enforcement officer they
believe Morris tried to have killed.

David Ferguson, assistant U.S. attorney, said the land will be sold. Six
area law enforcement agencies have requested a portion of the sale price
because officers from those agencies participated in the investigation,
Ferguson said. Those agencies are the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office,
the 12th Judicial Drug Task Force and police departments from Barling,
Greenwood, Van Buren and Fort Smith.

Ferguson said the Drug Enforcement Administration determines the "sharing
process" between agencies.

"It kind of depends on their involvement in the case," Ferguson said.