Gladney will appeal his sentence of 12+ years, according to defense attorney Bobby Digby of Benton.
Arkansas man, Freddie Gladney, III, aka the rapper widely known as “Bankroll Freddie” was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison on Friday morning, November 1, 2024. This sentencing came after he was convicted of multiple narcotics offenses, including a firearms offense, which involved a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of marijuana in and around central Arkansas.
Jonathan D. Ross, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by U.S. District Judge James M. Moody, Jr. Attorney for the Defense is Bobby Digby of Benton, Arkansas.
The Counts
Following a four-day trial, Gladney, age 30, of Helena, Arkansas, was convicted by a federal jury on April 12, 2024. The jury found Gladney guilty of:
- one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana,
- one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana,
- one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and
- one count of using a telephone in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In addition to the 150 months’ total imprisonment – or 12.5 years – Judge Moody sentenced Gladney to another three years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Gladney was also ordered to pay a $242,000 money judgment as part of his conviction.
The Appeal
Gladney’s Defense Attorney, Bobby Digby of Benton stated, “Although we didn’t agree with the Court’s interpretation of the new sentencing law, going forward, Mr. Gladney Mr. Gladney will exhaust the appeal process regarding issues during sentencing and other issues during the case. We’re confident that the 8th Circuit of Appeals will provide some much deserved relief.”
The Rapper
Bankroll Freddie has multiple millions of listens on streaming services, including some of his top songs, “Drip Like Dis,” “Pop It,” and “Add It Up.”
A post on his official Instagram account from around 4pm after the sentencing states: “If You Think This Sh*t Over You Must Don’t Believe In God …God Is In Control I’ll See Yall Soon Just Sit Back And Watch God Work Free Me Until You See Me🏦 💙… Words From The Bank #FREEBANK“
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The “Rap”
Gladney was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 3, 2023, in a 32-count superseding indictment that charged him with numerous offenses related to a conspiracy that was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Two FBI operations, each focused on a rival gang, were created to address violence and drug trafficking in the corridor between Pine Bluff and Little Rock. The investigations focused on rival gangs responsible for violence throughout central Arkansas, with one operation focused on the EBK or Every Body Killas gang and resulting in the indictment of 35 defendants.
An investigation revealed that on April 14, 2022, an Arkansas State Police trooper observed a black truck speeding and conducted a traffic stop in Marion. The trooper noted the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and asked Gladney to exit the vehicle. Gladney began to exit the vehicle but then reentered and started reaching for something in the vehicle. Because Gladney refused to exit the vehicle, the trooper was forced to remove him.
During a search of Gladney’s vehicle, law enforcement officers located in the passenger seat near the area where Gladney had been reaching, a Romarm/Cugie Model Micro Draco 7.62x39mm caliber firearm and a Polymer 80 Model PF940C, 9mm privately made firearm (also known as a “ghost gun”).
Additionally, during a search of the back seat of the vehicle, law enforcement officers located a duffle bag containing 21.4 pounds of high-grade marijuana and $33,662, which was located in the center console along with seven magazines, five of which were extended and fully loaded.
At sentencing, Gladney received a 4-level increase for being an organizer or leader of criminal activity that involved five or more participants. Gladney received a 2-level increase in his guideline range for obstruction of justice related to a May 25, 2021, wiretap call in which he instructed a co-defendant to remove guns and scales used for weighing illegal drugs from his Helena residence in anticipation that it would be searched by law enforcement:
FREDDIE GLADNEY III:
So where, what you got in the house in Helena?
CO-DEFENDANT:
I got everything out of there.
Freddie:
You got everything out of there already?
Co:
Yeah.
Freddie:
Scales and everything?
Co:
Naw, I gotta, gotta, lemme call them. Send em back in to get that. I gotta find out where all they at.
Freddie:
Scales and shit. Get everything out the house. Any guns, anything.
Co:
Alright, let me..
Freddie:
Where that MAK-90 at?
Co:
It’s not there.
Freddie:
Alright get everything else out that house before they go search that b***h.
Co:
Alright.
Judge Moody cited the ghost gun in increasing Gladney’s sentence 2.5 years above the guidelines range. Judge Moody noted that based on trial testimony, it was apparent that Gladney’s ghost gun, which did not have a back plate, was either ready to receive a “switch,” or had recently had a “switch” on it, that would turn the ghost gun from a semi-automatic firearm to a fully-automatic firearm. Judge Moody also recognized that Gladney was on probation from a drug and gun case in Memphis at the time he was intercepted on the wiretap in this case.
The Investigations
This investigation 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.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Department of Community Corrections, Little Rock Police Department, North Little Rock Police Department, Pine Bluff Police Department, and Jonesboro Police Department. FBI’s GETROCK Task Force was formed in 2017 in response to the escalation in gang and gun violence in Little Rock. The unit’s investigations and operations are coordinated out of FBI Little Rock’s field office, and GETROCK continues to serve as the clearinghouse for gang-related law enforcement activity in Central Arkansas. Additional support was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations; United States Postal Inspection Service; Arkansas National Guard Counterdrug Joint Task Force; and the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie Peters, Amanda Fields, and Reese Lancaster.
Watch MySaline for updates.
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