Denison, Texas, Man Sentenced To 46 Months In Federal Prison For Transporting More Than 100 Kilograms Of Marijuana

LUBBOCK — Mark Dean Garrison, 48, of Denison, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 46 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in December 2012 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, in late October 2012, a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped a pickup truck, owned and driven by Garrison, for a traffic violation on Interstate 20 near Abilene, Texas. Co-defendant Brian Julian Gallardo, 22 of Sherman,, Texas, was the only passenger in the truck, which was carrying several spools of barbed wire. After Garrison consented to a search of the truck, one of the troopers opened the inside of one of the spools of wire and detected the odor of marijuana. Further investigation revealed that the spools of wire contained 229 bricks of marijuana that weighed approximately 112 kilograms. Both Garrison and Gallardo were arrested and have been in custody since that time.

Gallardo has pleaded guilty to the same offense and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29, 2013. He faces a statutory penalty of not less than five or more than 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine.

The case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams is in charge of the prosecution.