A 58-year-old Texarkana man with a long history of drug-related arrests and convictions pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance in federal court.
Darrell Renard Witcher appeared for a plea hearing Tuesday morning with his defense attorney, John Pickett of Texarkana, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hornok prosecuted the case.
In court records filed on Tuesday, Witcher agreed that he has been selling drugs in the Texarkana area for many years.
“For at least two decades I have been regularly engaged in drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Texas. For example, on February 21, 2020, I knowingly possessed approximately 491 grams of cocaine at my home in Texarkana in the Eastern District of Texas. I intended to distribute the cocaine to anther person. At the same time, I also knowingly possessed a .380 caliber pistol and corresponding ammunition. I kept the firearm to protect myself, my drugs, and my drug proceeds. Then on January 27, 2021, I knowingly possessed approximately one kilogram of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. I possessed that at my home in Texarkana in the Eastern District of Texas,” the court records state.
Witcher is facing 10 years to life in federal prison as well as a possible fine up to $10 million. He will return to court in several months for formal sentencing.
Witcher is currently being held in the Titus County jail.
