On September 3, 2015, at approximately 11:30 pm, Howe police officer Robert Todd pulled over a pickup truck for following too closely northbound on U.S. Hwy 75. Brandon Patton was a passenger in the rear seat and was seen by the officer moving around suspiciously as the vehicle was pulling over. Upon contacting the vehicle’s occupants and asking questions, Officer Todd received answers that made him suspicious. When the officer checked the criminal histories of the occupants, two of the three occupants, including Patton, had histories of drug involvement. The officer asked for consent to search the vehicle, which the driver granted.
During the search, Officer Todd discovered two methamphetamine pipes in the passenger seat of the truck, a bag of methamphetamine containing 4.47 grams of methamphetamine hidden in a cup in the console, and multiple plastic baggies. Under the seat occupied by Brandon Patton, Todd found a bag with 95 grams of methamphetamine and a digital scale.
At trial, Assistant District Attorneys Jeremy Wood and Britton Brooks called the front seat passenger in the vehicle, Katherine Moreno, to testify that Patton was planning to take the methamphetamine from Dallas to Madill, Oklahoma to sell. Charges against Moreno are still pending. An agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Justin Holbert, testified that when sold by the gram in a rural city such as Madill, 95 grams of methamphetamine could bring the seller nearly $10,000. Jurors also heard evidence that Patton, at the time of his arrest, was on probation for a previous charge of possession of methamphetamine out of Hopkins County.
“This was a large amount of methamphetamine,” said Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Wood. “This was clearly an amount that was for distribution, and this defendant had already been given the opportunity to fix his behavior when he got probation before.”
“This was a dealer, not just a user,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown. “He had gone down to the metroplex, and was going to take that stuff up in to Oklahoma. He looked very young, and I guess he thought the jury might have some leniency because of that, but they did what we expected they would do.”
Patton will be eligible for parole in six-and-a-half years. He was represented by Sherman attorney Donnie Jarvis.
