A man accused of conspiring to traffic methamphetamine and cocaine in the east Texas and Dallas areas and of threatening a co-defendant/witness is on trial this week in Texarkana.
Collin Garrett Hayden, 28, is one of multiple defendants charged with drug trafficking and other crimes in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas in 2017. Since his arrest, Hayden has been charged with additional crimes such as witness intimidation and possession of contraband in prison, court records show.
A jury was chosen Monday morning and testimony began Monday afternoon. On Monday, Hayden pleaded guilty to possession of contraband in prison. Hayden admitted that he threatened staff at the Titus County jail in Mount Pleasant, Texas, with an 8-inch bolt he removed from the ceiling of his jail cell. He will be sentenced for that offense at a later date.
The jury seated this week is expected to decide if Hayden is guilty of conspiring to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine, if he or one of his alleged co-conspirators used a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and if Hayden is guilty of threatening a witness.
Some of Hayden’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. Daniel Enrique Montes-Munoz was sentenced in January to 97 months in prison for conspiracy to traffic drugs. Timothy Franklin Harper was sentenced in December 2018 to 188 months for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Jason Wayne McLemore was sentenced to 151 months in February 2018 for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gerald Clinton Davis was sentenced to 120 months in October 2018 for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Hayden is represented by Longview, Texas, attorney Charles Van Cleef. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hornok is prosecuting. Presiding over the trial is U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III.
