TEXARKANA, Texas–A federal appellate court has said that a Texarkana man who received a 14-year prison term in 2024 for fentanyl trafficking that resulted in a fatal overdose should get a do-over of his sentence, finding that the prosecutor violated the plea agreement.
At the January 2024 sentencing hearing of Darell Montrell Trotter, 36, the prosecutor improperly encouraged U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III to impose a sentence above the federal guideline range of 135 to 168 months identified in a plea agreement. Judge Schroeder sentenced Trotter to 168 months after hearing arguments from Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker which a panel of judges from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found to be improper.
At the sentencing hearing, Locker argued that the court had discretion to sentence Trotter beyond the range specified in Trotter’s plea agreement, violating a portion of the agreement that stipulated that “neither party would advocate for a sentence outside that range.”
“True, the plea agreement acknowledges that the district court was not bound by the Guidelines, but the prosecutor went beyond merely reminding the court of its discretion; he affirmatively advocated for a sentence beyond the Guidelines’ range,” the appellate court said.
At the hearing, Locker called the father of a man who died from taking a counterfeit prescription pill containing fentanyl which had been sold by a co-defendant who was lower down in the drug supply chain than Trotter, the opinion said.
The father accused Trotter of murder and Locker reminded the court that the maximum possible punishment under the law was life, a far more severe punishment than the federal sentence guidelines suggested for Trotter, who had no prior criminal history.
The appellate court further noted that federal probation authorities had recommended a sentence at the lowest end of the guideline range.
The appellate court found that Locker’s arguments at sentencing could have influenced Judge Schroeder’s decision to impose a sentence at the top of the guideline range.
The appellate court overturned Trotter’s sentence and sent it back to Judge Schroeder for further proceedings. The Fifth Circuit judges said Trotter can either choose to be re-sentenced before a different judge in keeping with the original plea agreement or he can withdraw his plea entirely.
After the appellate court issued its decision in late November, Judge Schroeder appointed Texarkana lawyer Cory Floyd to represent Trotter going forward. At a status conference on Thursday, Judge Schroeder said he would give Floyd time to meet with Trotter to discuss the two options the appellate court has given him, according to court records.
Judge Schroeder further said that if Trotter chooses to be re-sentenced before a different judge, another judge in the Eastern District of Texas will be randomly assigned to the matter, according to court records.
Trotter is currently being held in a federal prison in Louisiana.