Jury gives 20 years for possession

September 7, 2006

By Josh Edwards

The Paris News (Texas)

A Lamar County jury took less than five minutes Wednesday to sentence a Paris man with a lengthy criminal history to two decades in prison for marijuana possession.

Mario Deshun Gill, 29, was found guilty of possession of 5.4 ounces of marijuana. In addition to 20 years in prison, he was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

The sentence is the maximum allowed by law.
“The jury wanted to give him more time,” Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young said.

“This is the kind of message juries are continuing to send to drug dealers in Lamar County,” Assistant District Attorney Marilee Brown said, noting a 199-year sentence handed down last week to a crack cocaine dealer.

The charges from the 2005 arrest were enhanced due to convictions for attempted robbery in 1998 and delivery of cocaine in 2003.

Jurors returned with a guilty verdict after an hour of deliberation Wednesday.

Brown argued Gill was selling large amounts of marijuana near a playground. Defense attorney Cameron Lenahan said the drugs did not belong to Gill.

Gill was arrested Feb. 23, 2005, after officers Leigh Foreman and Shane Stone received a Crime Stoppers tip about possible narcotics violations at Gill's residence. When officers arrived, they smelled a very strong odor of marijuana in the front porch area. Foreman received consent to search the residence and found a shoe box with 5.4 ounces of marijuana in a bedroom.

Small plastic bags commonly used to package marijuana and a set of digital scales were also found.

Because the residence is within 1,000 feet of a playground, the offense was enhanced to include a drug-free zone designation.

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Originally posted by Dana Larsen:
This is a few months old but I only found out about this situation today.

Jury gives 20 years for possession

September 7, 2006

By Josh Edwards

The Paris News (Texas)

A Lamar County jury took less than five minutes Wednesday to sentence a Paris man with a lengthy criminal history to two decades in prison for marijuana possession.

Mario Deshun Gill, 29, was found guilty of possession of 5.4 ounces of marijuana. In addition to 20 years in prison, he was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

The sentence is the maximum allowed by law.
“The jury wanted to give him more time,” Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young said.

“This is the kind of message juries are continuing to send to drug dealers in Lamar County,” Assistant District Attorney Marilee Brown said, noting a 199-year sentence handed down last week to a crack cocaine dealer.

The charges from the 2005 arrest were enhanced due to convictions for attempted robbery in 1998 and delivery of cocaine in 2003.

Jurors returned with a guilty verdict after an hour of deliberation Wednesday.

Brown argued Gill was selling large amounts of marijuana near a playground. Defense attorney Cameron Lenahan said the drugs did not belong to Gill.

Gill was arrested Feb. 23, 2005, after officers Leigh Foreman and Shane Stone received a Crime Stoppers tip about possible narcotics violations at Gill's residence. When officers arrived, they smelled a very strong odor of marijuana in the front porch area. Foreman received consent to search the residence and found a shoe box with 5.4 ounces of marijuana in a bedroom.

Small plastic bags commonly used to package marijuana and a set of digital scales were also found.

Because the residence is within 1,000 feet of a playground, the offense was enhanced to include a drug-free zone designation.

Ebony Harrell, 28, was also charged during the drug bust. She pleaded guilty in June 2005 and was sentenced to two years in jail.

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..Texas executes more prisoners than any other state. But you can walk around with a gun there if you want to. -Nussy

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