Mark Dean Garrison, Marijuana Transporting, Texas 2012

State: Texas
Category: Drug Trafficking
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/denison-texas-man-sentenced-46-months-federal-prison-transporting-more-100-kilograms" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

LUBBOCK — A Denison man has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison after being found guilty of transporting over 100 kilograms of marijuana in Texas.

Mark Dean Garrison, 48, was sentenced on December 17, 2012, by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings for his role in the crime. Garrison was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

The case began on October 25, 2012, when a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a pickup truck driven by Garrison on Interstate 20 near Abilene, Texas. The truck was carrying several spools of barbed wire, which caught the attention of the trooper.

Co-defendant Brian Julian Gallardo, 22, of Sherman, Texas, was the only passenger in the truck. After Garrison consented to a search of the truck, one of the troopers opened the inside of one of the spools of wire and detected the odor of marijuana. Further investigation revealed that the spools of wire contained 229 bricks of marijuana that weighed approximately 112 kilograms.

Both Garrison and Gallardo were arrested and have been in custody since that time. Gallardo has pleaded guilty to the same offense and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29, 2013. He faces a statutory penalty of not less than five or more than 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine.

The case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams is in charge of the prosecution.

Garrison’s sentence is a serious reminder of the consequences of transporting large quantities of marijuana in Texas. The Northern District of Texas will continue to work tirelessly to combat this type of crime and bring those responsible to justice.

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