United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, COUPLE SENTENCED
ON DRUG AND FIREARMS CONVICTIONS

Ricky Joe Lewis Sentenced to Nearly 22 Years in Federal Prison, Without Parole

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Ricky Joe Lewis and Alexis Hunter, of Wichita Falls, Texas, were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor following their guilty pleas in June 2009 to various federal charges stemming from their arrest in December 2008, when law enforcement discovered methamphetamine being manufactured, as well as firearms, at their residence, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge O’Connor sentenced Lewis, 34, to a total of 262 months in prison and Hunter, 36, to a total of 41 months in prison. Both sentences are to run concurrently with any pending Wichita Falls county cases. Hunter was remanded into custody; Lewis has been in custody since his arrest in December.

Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of manufacturing a controlled substance, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and one count of manufacturing methamphetamine on premises where a child resides. Hunter pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premise.

According to documents filed in the case, on December 30, 2008, a Wichita Falls County Constable attempted to serve Hunter with eviction paperwork. Lewis lived with Hunter at the residence she was leasing. As the Constable approached, he noticed a strong odor of anhydrous ammonia and ether coming from the residence, a sign that methamphetamine was being manufactured. When a Wichita Falls Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at the scene, he too noticed the odor, as well as a box fan in a bedroom window that could be seen drawing chemical vapors from the room.

Lewis opened the front door to the residence after the Constable and Sheriff’s Deputy knocked several times. Alexis Hunter remained in the south bedroom of the residence with her three-year-old daughter. After obtaining permission from Hunter to search the residence, officers discovered that the chemical smell was so strong because methamphetamine was being manufactured.

Officers recovered numerous items and paraphernalia used to manufacture methamphetamine, including sulfuric acid, plastic ware, tubing, chemical soaked filters, empty boxes of pseudoephedrine, a food grinder, and a baggie of ground pseudoephedrine, the primary ingredient needed to manufacture methamphetamine. Law enforcement also recovered digital scales and glass pipes with methamphetamine residue. In the bathroom, a child’s plastic toy box was being used as a hydrogen chloride (HCL) gas generator, which is used to convert liquid methamphetamine into powder methamphetamine. The gas is produced by mixing sulfuric acid with salt, and it is flammable and poisonous. A large blue plastic water container containing anhydrous ammonia, used in the production of methamphetamine, was found underneath a child’s wading pool in the front yard.

Law enforcement also recovered a 12-gauge shotgun and a .22 caliber revolver in the residence.

Lewis admitted that he manufactured methamphetamine at the residence where the 3-year-old child lived, and when she was present, causing her to be exposed to dangerous and poisonous chemicals and gases used in the manufacturing process and causing her to become exposed to, and test positive for, methamphetamine. Hunter admitted that she made the residence available for the unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine and that she knew Lewis was manufacturing methamphetamine at the time law enforcement came to the residence on December 30, 2008.

The case was investigated by the Wichita Falls County Sheriff’s Office, the Wichita Falls County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank L. Gatto prosecuted the case.

###