Panhandle DA accepts plea deal, resigns ( meth drug charges DROPPED)

[rainbow4321]

Ok--so all the stink in this state and nationwide about meth use and abuse and WHAT do they do--- DROP THE METH charges which takes 40 yrs OFF his possible jail sentence.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D884FLCO0.html

West Texas district attorney accused of using drugs and illegally possessing guns resigned Tuesday then pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in a deal that dropped the drug charges and cut his prison time, a prosecutor said. Rick Roach, 55, entered the plea agreement in an Amarillo court after resigning as district attorney for five counties.

At the time of his Jan. 11 arrest in the Gray County Courthouse in Pampa, he was in court with two guns in his briefcase, prosecutors said. According to search warrants, there were drugs and more than 30 weapons — semiautomatic handguns, rifles and shotguns — in his office and home. "I felt this was the best count for him to plead to federally," prosecutor Christy Drake said.

He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The drug charges could have brought an additional 41 years and $2.25 million in fines. No sentencing date was set. Roach is free until sentencing.

The dropped charges were possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver

[harlinchi]

1. I hate to tee off on race but...

I guess this guy was NOT Black. Black folks do NOT get the 'benefit of the doubt' when sentencing issues arise.

[DulceDecorum]

9. Have you seen

Dave Chappelle in the skit where he takes
The Fifth?

[harlinchi]

12. No. I watch the show but must have missed it.

[ernstbass]

2. He will get a slap on the hand

when he should get the maximum sentence for methamphetamine - after all he ran on an anti drug ticket -

[genieroze]

4. He ran on an anti drug ticket? LOL What a hypocrite. eom

[rainbow4321]

6. His (alleged) meth use described in article....

This is from one of those "register first" sites but I put here the list of the meth evidence against him:


http://amarillo.com/login.shtml?orq:http://www.amarillo.com/stories/011905/new_1063901.shtml

According to court records:


Roach told one person that he used methamphethamine to "enhance his sexual experience" and had become a regular user after trying it several months earlier. Several witnesses cited signs that Roach had been using drugs, including extreme mood swings, inability to sit still, unexplained absences from work, substantial weight loss and extreme paranoia. Witnesses believe Roach was taking drugs from evidence or getting them from defendants or local suppliers.

Roach viewed pornography on his office computer, including images of 15- or 16-year-old girls, and expressed his desire to produce his own pornography. Roach checked out 2 pounds of meth from the DPS lab in Amarillo in November and claimed he was using it for K9 training. DPS officials said the drugs had not been returned.

Witnesses reported Roach injected meth with insulin syringes at the office in the courthouse and an apartment in Pampa owned by the DA's office. A syringe that tested positive for meth was found floating in an employee-only bathroom at the courthouse.


According to the records, Roach was "obsessed" with money seizures, including offering Rolex watches to Department of Public Safety troopers, trying to motivate them to make more money seizures. Under state law, seizures of money thought to be connected to the drug trade are split between the law enforcement agency and the prosecuting attorney's office.

[rainbow4321]

7. Slap on the hand and probably re-elected.....n/t

[Career Prole]

3. "I felt this was the best count for him to plead to federally",

prosecutor Christy Drake said.
Sound a lot more like a defense attorney there, Ms. Drake!
What utter double-standard b.s.! :grr:

[David Zephyr]

5. Sentence & Fine Reduced to Keep His Mouth Shut...As Always.

As Richard Pryor said, when white folks talk about justice, they mean just that..."just us."

[Freddie Stubbs]

8. Can anyone guess which party he belongs to?

;)

[genieroze]

10. If he was a Republican he would have been promoted. Look at

* and company. They can do no wrong.

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. He is a Republican, and he is losing his job

[genieroze]

13. That's a shock, it's usually Dems that get caught. Look at poor

Clinton. They put him and our country through hell for something that was nobody's business. * causes hell all over the globe and he doesn't get squat.