United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, MAN SENTENCED
TO 22 ½ YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE,
ON METHAMPHETAMINE AND FIREARM CONVICTIONS

Case Part of Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative

Charles Leroy Stockwell, 50, of Wichita Falls, Texas, was sentenced today to a total of 270 months in prison, announced Richard B. Roper, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Stockwell pled guilty in September 2006 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Honorable Jerry Buchmeyer, U.S. Senior District Judge, sentenced Stockwell to 210 months on the drug conviction that is to be followed by another 60 consecutive months on the firearm conviction.

“This stiff sentence continues the successful Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative between the U.S. Attorney's Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the North Texas Regional Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Wichita Falls Sheriff’s Office and the Wichita County District Attorney's Office,” said U.S. Attorney Roper. Roper continued, “Within the past year, 17 defendants convicted on drug and firearms charges within the Wichita Falls area have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life, without parole. In addition, there are numerous defendants who have been convicted, but not yet sentenced, who are facing comparable sentences."

According to documents filed in Court, on March 3, 2006, officers with the North Texas Regional Drug Enforcement Task Force installed a tracking device on Stockwell’s vehicle pursuant to a court order because they had developed reliable information that Stockwell was traveling from Wichita Falls to Dallas to acquire large amounts of methamphetamine. Officers monitored the vehicle and determined that it had traveled to a location in Dallas and was returning to Wichita Falls. Officers intercepted Stockwell and his vehicle in Bellevue, Texas, and observed several traffic violations.

Stockwell allowed officers to search his vehicle and they found a large black lockbox that contained a large quantity of methamphetamine, drug distribution paraphernalia, a drug ledger, $16,790 in U.S. currency, a loaded .45 caliber pistol and a loaded .22 caliber pistol. Stockwell also had an additional $2,423 in U.S. currency in his possession. Stockwell told officers that he traveled to Dallas and acquired the methamphetamine there for $11,700. He also told officers that he had acquired and distributed approximately 50 pounds of methamphetamine in the preceding six to eight month period, traveling to Dallas on a regular basis to acquire the methamphetamine for resale.

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of the North Texas Regional Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, a federal program aimed toward the aggressive prosecution of gun crimes. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Tromblay.

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