ARKADELPHIA, Arkansas — Four Houston men accused of trafficking copious amounts of pills were arrested at an Interstate 30 rest stop in Southwest Arkansas.
At least two of the suspects were allegedly involved in a July 31, 2025, burglary of a St. Louis-area pharmacy. Police in both Arkansas and Missouri worked to make an arrest within five hours of the time the burglary was reported.
Police seized more than 25,000 pills of various prescribed uses following the arrest and subsequent execution of a search warrant.
Arrested were Bartley Omar White Jr., 21, Erik Dewayne Lyons Jr., 20, Johnathan Dewayne Fore, 29, and Anthony Ray Venwright Jr., 32.
Bartley White Jr.
Erik Lyons Jr.
Johnathan Fore
Anthony Venright Jr.
Court documents indicate two of the men broke into a pharmacy and spent two hours filling bags with prescription medication, and were headed back to Houston when police intercepted them.
Clark County Sheriff Jason Watson provided The Arkadelphian with affidavits filed by the sheriff’s office Group 6 Narcotics Enforcement Unit. The court documents say Arkansas State Troopers conducted a stop on two vehicles after a BOLO (Be On the LookOut for) was issued for a Toyota Rav4 seen on surveillance footage leaving a pharmacy burglary in Maryland Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
The burglary was reported at 7:34 a.m. Thursday, July 31. Detectives reviewed surveillance footage that captured two suspects break a window to enter the rear of the business at about 1:15 a.m. During the two hours the dark-clad suspects were in the pharmacy, one of them damaged a secured cage holding pain medication and other controlled substances, allowing each to fill large bags with pill bottles before fleeing the scene.
The Rav4 was identified by detectives with the use of multiple public and law enforcement traffic camera databases that captured a clear image of its license plate and indicated a direction of travel.
A BOLO was issued, and Arkansas troopers located the vehicle traveling in tandem with a Nissan Rogue. The affidavit notes that the suspects may have been involved in organized crime given their use of multiple vehicles and license plates, and traveling far distances to commit crimes to avoid contact with law enforcement.
A computer inquiry into the Nissan Rogue showed the vehicle was rented in Houston, Texas, and its whereabouts to be in Texas during the morning hours of July 31, then traveling to Cabot, Arkansas, in the late morning. Arkansas troopers conducted a traffic stop on both vehicles and took four suspects into custody at the Pilot Travel Center in Caddo Valley.
A search warrant was executed July 31 on both vehicles, revealing two large trash bags in the spare tire compartment, each filled with pill bottles. Three of the men provided statements during police questioning.
The suspects are being held at the Clark County Detention Center for eight counts each of trafficking a controlled substance. They are scheduled for a first court appearance on Monday. It wasn’t clear at the time of this writing, Saturday morning, whether the men will be extradited to Missouri.
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