TEXARKANA, Texas - A local man who pleaded guilty in a Texarkana federal court Tuesday admits in court documents to trafficking drugs in the area for at least 20 years.
Darrell Renard Witcher, 58, appeared with Texarkana lawyer John Pickett for a plea hearing Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven in Texarkana's downtown federal building. Witcher entered a guilty plea to an information charging him with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
A factual basis document filed Tuesday in the case includes an admission by Witcher that he has been involved in the illegal drug trade in the 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 Feb. 21, 2020, I knowingly possessed approximately 491 grams of cocaine at home in Texarkana," the factual basis states.
Criminal court records in Bowie County, Texas, show multiple drug-related arrests in Witcher's past beginning in 1989.
Witcher admits in the factual basis to possessing a .380 pistol and ammunition at the same time as he possessed the drugs.
"I kept the firearm to protect myself, my drugs and my drug proceeds," the factual basis states. "Then, on Jan. 27, 2021, I knowingly possessed approximately one kilogram of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine."
Witcher admits to keeping the drugs and firearm at his residence in Texarkana, Texas.
Witcher will return to court for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in several months. Witcher faces 10 years to life in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million. Witcher is currently being held in federal custody.