Heroin Conspirators Sentenced to Nearly 300 Years

Heroin traffickers caught in a criminal conspiracy that stretched from Chicago to Knox County and Sevier County were sentenced to nearly three hundred years between the eighteen co-conspirators convicted in this case. In October 2014, Alfred Maron Williams, Eric Martel Abrams, Jamie Paul Click, and Carla Heather Arwood were convicted by a Knox County jury of twelve counts each of Conspiracy to Sell or Deliver Heroin Over 150 Grams in a Drug Free School Zone. Williams was also convicted of four counts of Sale or Delivery of Heroin, two counts of Possession with Intent to Sell or Deliver Heroin, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Unlawful Possession of a Handgun, Tampering with Evidence, Simple Possession, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Welch and Sean McDermott of the Repeat Offender Prosecution Unit.

After a sentencing hearing, Judge Steve Sword sentenced Williams to twenty-five years in prison, Click to twenty-five years in prison, Abrams to twenty-one years in prison, and Arwood to fifteen years in prison. Jamie Click was also prosecuted for multiple heroin sales in Sevier County by Assistant District Attorney George Ioannides of the Fourth Judicial District Attorney General’s Office and was sentenced to eighty years in prison for those cases.

Fourteen other conspirators pled guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Together, the convictions total two hundred and ninety-seven years. The eighteen conspirators have over one hundred and forty prior criminal convictions on their records.

The investigation, led by Knoxville Police Department Officer Phil Jinks, uncovered a Chicago-sourced heroin distribution network that stretched from Knox County to Sevier County. The investigation resulted in the execution of several search warrants and the arrest of the conspirators for their roles in the distribution ring. The State showed the conspiracy was headed by Williams who also directed heroin traffic to Abrams. The State also proved that Click and Arwood purchased heroin from Williams in Knoxville to distribute in Sevier County.

The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Knoxville Police Department, Sevierville Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Fourth Judicial District Attorney General’s Office for their hard work in this investigation and prosecution.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.