Father Sentenced to 40 Years in Methamphetamine Case Involving Son

A Fort Worth father who conspired with his son to deal methamphetamine was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

David Devaney, Sr., 59, and David Devaney, Jr., 36, opted for a bench trial and were found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in November 2022. The elder Mr. Devaney was sentenced on Thursday; the younger Mr. Devaney is slated to be sentenced on May 4. Co-conspirator Cory Litts, 36, pleaded guilty to the same charged in October 2022 and was sentenced in April to more than 22 years in prison.

“The dangerous culture created by drug trafficking impacts all of us, creating a terminal plague that ruins the livelihood of our communities,” said Lester R. Hayes Jr., Special Agent in Charge HSI Dallas. “As long as this illicit activity exists, we are all susceptible to the violence and societal ills of the drug trade.”

According to court documents, the investigation into the elder Mr. Devaney began in June 2022, when a cooperating defendant identified the elder Mr. Devaney as a methamphetamine distributor.  

Later that month, law enforcement received a 911 call about a 64-year-old woman who was shot and killed in Burleson, Texas. Surveillance video showed that Mr. Devaney, Sr.’s vehicle was involved in the incident, which was thought to be a drug deal gone bad. (The deceased woman was an innocent bystander.)

Officers tracked the vehicle to a hotel parking lot, where they frisked the driver, Mr. Litts, and found a plastic baggy containing 115 grams of methamphetamine and a digital scale concealed inside his clothing.

Officers then approached Mr. Devaney, Sr., who was sitting on the passenger’s side of the vehicle, and observed him throw a shaving kit bag into a nearby bush.  Inside the bag, officers found more than a kilogram of methamphetamine and a substantial amount of U.S. currency. They frisked Mr. Devaney, a ten-time convicted felon, and found a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol tucked into his waistband.

Both men were arrested and transported to the Burleson police department.

That same evening, Mr. Devaney, Jr., was also arrested in connection with the shooting in Burleson.

In an interview with law enforcement, Mr. Devaney, Jr. denied involvement with the shooting, but admitted, “obviously, there’s been drugs.”   He said his dad “just went off the deep end… and he started selling drugs,” and claimed his father “just kept sucking me in.”

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Stop The Offender Program (STOP), the Burleson Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn Smith and Laura Montes prosecuted the federal case.

The state has filed capital murder charges against both Devaneys and several other individuals for their alleged roles in the Burleson shooting. Although they have been convicted of the federal drug charges, they are presumed innocent of the state capital murder charges until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.