After completing a drug sting operation, Texas law enforcement officials have arrested numerous individuals who are apparently connected to a Texas Christian University drug ring. Most recently, cops have arrested two more people on drug offenses, in addition to three others previously apprehended. Most of those arrested are students or graduates of the university and have been accused of delivering prescription drugs and marijuana.
Police reports say that a 20-year-old student was arrested after he sold marijuana and Xanax to an undercover cop at a fraternity house on the college campus. He has since been charges with multiple third-degree felonies, because the drugs were not distributed in large quantities. The other person recently arrested, a 21-year-old man, was charged with a second-degree felony for delivery of more than 28 ounces of Xanax. The three others associated with this particular case were all arrested on similar charges.
Many of the drug charges brought against these students include slightly modified penalties because they have been accused of selling drugs in a drug-free zone, the college campus. Even though these individuals have been charged with delivery of relatively small quantities of drugs, they could face up to 10 years for any of the third-degree felony charges or as many as 20 years for the second-degree felonies. Texas drug laws traditionally carry heavy penalties, so any drug charge is to be taken very seriously.
When an individual is charged with delivery or possession of illegal drugs, it is very important to make sure their defense team carefully scrutinizes every detail of the police’s evidence gathering and arrest. This is especially true during sting operations, which often utilize complex and aggressive tactics. Everyone has constitutional protections against illegal searches and seizures. In order to gather the physical evidence necessary for a drug conviction, police must make sure every procedure they enact is done legally. Anytime evidence is improperly gathered, it cannot be used in the course of a criminal prosecution.
Source: Star-Telegram, “Two more charged in TCU drug sting,” Marty Sabota, Mar. 8, 2012