An Orange, Texas man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.
Richard Earl Thomas, 34, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 120 total months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on May 15, 2024.
According to information presented in court, beginning in 2021, law enforcement received information that Thomas was dealing narcotics from his residence in Orange, Texas. On Jan. 5, 2022, a narcotics search warrant was executed on Thomas’ home. In the master bedroom police found cocaine, marijuana, heroin, multiple pills, and two firearms. Officers also found two digital scales which are often used by drug dealers to weigh and distribute narcotics. The narcotics were submitted to the Jefferson County Crime Laboratory which determined the substances to be roughly 14 grams of cocaine, 24 grams of heroin and approximately 157 grams of methamphetamine in pill form.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Orange Police Department and the West Orange Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell James.
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