Pine Bluff man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, gun charges

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Pine Bluff man was sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison after being convicted on drug trafficking charges.

In a Wednesday release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas said 39-year-old Tristan Larandell Lee was sentenced on Tuesday to serve 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a federal drug-trafficking crime.

The release states that an investigation found that on Mar. 8, Arkansas State Police troopers responded to a report of a car being driven recklessly on Interstate 530. Troopers said they found Lee asleep in the driver's seat of the car.

Officials said the responding trooper then woke Lee up, leading to Lee attempting to start his car and flee. After removing Lee following his refusal to exit the car, the trooper eventually placed Lee in custody due to combative behavior.