Category Archives: Drug

On Friday, March 1, 2019, Judge Evan Stubbs sentenced Lucio Roy Atkinson, 47, to 80 years in prison for possessing 244 tablets of clonazepam with the intent to deliver the pills to others. Clonazepam is a drug used to treat anxiety among other medical uses. Atkinson had 11 prior felony convictions and 16 prior misdemeanor convictions.

Atkinson’s jury trial began on February 19, 2019. Assistant District Attorney Erin Toolan and District Attorney Sonny McAfee prosecuted the case, and Atkinson was represented by Terrence Marsh of Georgetown.

Evidence presented at trial showed that a DPS Trooper stopped Atkinson for a traffic violation in the Spicewood area on January 28, 2017. After conducting an investigation, the Trooper found 244 tablets of Clonazepam, many other illegal prescription pills, injectable steroids, and approximately an ounce of marijuana in Atkinson’s vehicle.

Evidence further established that Atkinson was a drug dealer in the area. Jack Schumacher, a retired Drug Enforcement Agent and current Chief Investigator for the District Attorney’s Office, testified that he reviewed text messages retrieved from Atkinson’s phone for the 15 day period prior to Atkinson’s arrest. In that small segment Schumacher said he was able to identify at least 19 buyers of different drugs from Atkinson as well as 3 probable suppliers. Schumacher also testified that Atkinson was dealing in steroids, illegal prescription drugs, cocaine, marihuana, and methamphetamine.

After the jury found Atkinson guilty he chose to have punishment assessed by the judge. The prosecutors presented evidence of Atkinson’s extensive criminal record and showed that Atkinson had used methamphetamine and committed other crimes even while awaiting trial. Members of Atkinson’s family testified on his behalf that he was a different person since his arrest and asked the court to allow Atkinson to get drug treatment. Due to Atkinson’s numerous prior convictions, the possible range of punishment was a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of 99 years or life in prison.

Before sentencing Atkinson, Judge Stubbs addressed Atkinson and his family members who were present in the courtroom, saying “The problem is we have eleven prior felonies and a bunch of prior misdemeanors and [Atkinson] has had as many chances as anyone I’ve ever seen.” The judge continued, “He’s a repeat drunk driver, He’s a thief. He’s a person who evades arrest. He’s a reckless driver. He’s an addict. And, most importantly, he’s a drug dealer.” Judge Stubbs stated that he felt terrible for Atkinson’s family, but “Roy has made his choices and that’s the situation that we’re in.” Judge Stubbs then sentenced Atkinson to 80 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Assistant District Attorney Erin Toolan said she was pleased with the guilty verdict by the jury and the judge’s sentence. “As the judge said at sentencing, most of our cases – whether drug possession, assaults, or child endangerment – involve the use of drugs,” said Toolan. “So people who sell drugs in this community are the cause or at least the catalyst for a lot of pain and sorrow when others are victimized by drug abusers.”

District Attorney McAfee agreed with Toolan and added, “Three weeks ago, a jury in Llano put a man in prison for life for dealing methamphetamine. And in this case the judge gave the defendant 80 years for dealing drugs. I hope every drug dealer and would-be drug dealer gets the message today: As a community we won’t put up with the spread of this poison.”

On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, a Llano County jury returned a verdict of life in prison for a Kingsland man, Thomas Preston Davis, 35, for possession of approximately one ounce of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Judge Evan Stubbs sentenced Davis in accordance with the jury’s verdict following a three day jury trial that began on Monday, February 11, 2019. District Attorney Sonny McAfee along with Assistant District Attorney Ivan LePendu prosecuted the case against Davis. Lampasas attorney Zach Morris represented Davis.

Davis’ case began with an arrest on November 18, 2017 when he was arrested by Llano County Deputies for traffic offenses after law enforcement officers received information concerning Davis’ drug activities. In a subsequent search, Davis was found to be possessing approximately an ounce of methamphetamine in two separate packages hidden in the front of his pants. Three days after that arrest, on November 21, 2017, Davis was also alleged to have delivered almost three quarters of an ounce of meth in two separate transactions. On Tuesday, the jury deliberated about 2 hours before returning a guilty verdict for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to deliver in an amount greater than or equal to four grams but less than 200 grams. The punishment phase of the trial began on Wednesday morning and was completed by early Wednesday afternoon.

During the punishment phase of trial, the evidence showed that Davis had previously been convicted of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine in Virginia in federal court and was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison plus 5 years of supervised release in that case. Davis was unsuccessful in his supervised release and returned to federal prison in Texas in October 2015. Davis was also arrested for evading arrest and possession of methamphetamine in the Buchanan Dam area in 2018 while his other drug cases were pending. Additional evidence produced at trial showed Davis attacked another inmate in the Llano County Jail while both were awaiting trial.

Based on Davis’ previous prison sentence and the quantity of meth possessed, the range of punishment for Davis’ offense was a minimum of 15 years with a maximum of 99 years or life, and a potential fine not to exceed $10,000. During closing arguments, Davis’ attorney asked the jury to consider a sentence twice as long as Davis’ previous prison stay so Davis could have a chance to make better decisions in the future when he got out. District Attorney McAfee argued that Davis had plenty of opportunity to make better choices in his life and Davis’ history showed he was not going to stop violating the law. The jury was out a little less than an hour and a half before returning the verdict of life in prison.

McAfee said he was thankful for the hard work of the jury and the strong message this verdict sent throughout the community. McAfee said, “The jurors carefully listened to the testimony and considered all of the evidence in both the guilt and punishment phases of trial. They showed great commitment to this community by holding this defendant accountable for spreading poison in the form of methamphetamine throughout this area. I am very pleased with the result of the jury’s work, and the efforts of law enforcement in bringing this defendant to justice.”

According to current Texas law, Davis will not be eligible for parole until his calendar time (actual time spent in prison) combined with time awarded for good conduct equals one quarter of his sentence or 15 years, whichever is less.

Michael Wells, 62, last known address in Kingsland, TX was sentenced by a Llano County jury to 10 years in the Texas Department of Corrections Institutional Division and a $2,500 fine for Possession of Cocaine after a 2 day trial in Blanco County.

In the early morning hours of September 18, 2016, Sunrise Beach police officer Reuben Sauceda conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Wells in a reckless manner. Deputy Ryne Van Pelt of the Llano County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene of the stop as backup to Officer Sauceda. After receiving consent to search the vehicle, Deputy Van Pelt discovered a small ziplock baggie containing cocaine on the passenger side floor board.

Wells was placed under arrest and the seized drugs were sent for analysis. The analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Austin, Texas confirmed the substance to be cocaine in an amount less than one gram. The punishment range for that amount of cocaine is normally 180 days to 2 years in a State Jail. However, due to Wells’ previous convictions for Theft and Possession of Cocaine the punishment was enhanced to that of a third degree felony which is 2-10 years in the penitentiary.

After the trial, prosecuted by the 33rd & 424th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Llano jury returned a guilty verdict along with the maximum prison sentence.