District Attorney’s Office press release
Joshua Demelles Thompson, 34, of Tool was sentenced last week to 25 years in prison by 173rd District Court Judge Dan Moore after pleading guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Assistant District Attorney Justin Weiner prosecuted the case on behalf of Scott McKee’s District Attorney’s Office.
Thompson was indicted by a Henderson County Grand Jury last year after an investigation into narcotics trafficking by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department.
On Dec. 11, 2014, Henderson County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Beddingfield learned that Thompson was in possession of Methamphetamine. Thompson was staying at 117 Oxbow in the Thunderbird Shores edition of Cedar Creek Lake. Based on that information and other intelligence, Deputy Beddingfield obtained a search warrant to search the residence and Thompson.
The warrant was executed shortly after it was signed. Members of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office command staff, narcotics task force, and the Gun Barrel City Police Department assisted in the execution of the warrant. Upon execution of the warrant, Thompson was found just outside the residence standing halfway inside his white Ford pick-up truck. A search of Thompson’s jacket revealed a red plastic container with 18 small baggies that contained what appeared to be methamphetamine residue. Inside Thompson’s truck, Deputies found a black bag that contained a digital scale, drug paraphernalia, and two more baggies of methamphetamine. Additionally, a metal spoon with methamphetamine on it was also found inside the truck. Metal spoons are commonly used to facilitate the ingestion of methamphetamine. Testing by a DPS lab revealed that Thompson was in possession of 4.66 grams of methamphetamine.
Deputies searched the home and found Bruck Kantak in the master bedroom sitting on the bed with a glass pipe used for ingesting methamphetamine. A woman, Rhonda Nichols was found in the bathroom of the residence sitting on the commode. When Nichols was asked to stand up, a baggie of methamphetamine was found in the commode covered by paper. Both Nichols and Kantak were arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance. Thompson was arrested for the Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance.
Deputies had previously executed a search warrant on the exact same house only months before targeting Barbra Trexler who was the primary resident of the home. Trexler was charged with Possession of a Controlled substance and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison on May 20, 2015.
An investigation into cash and a receipt discovered during the execution of the warrant revealed that Thompson, already a felon, had been in possession of a firearm. Records at a local pawn shop, confirmed that in December of 2014, Thompson sold a Whitney .22 semi-automatic pistol for $425.
After the sentence was final Weiner said, “There is no question that Thompson played a role not only in the use of methamphetamines but also the distribution and trafficking of methamphetamines. He was at a residence known for the distribution of narcotics with scales, a slew of baggies, and other paraphernalia. I am proud to have worked with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that Thompson will be out of business for a long time.”
Thompson had been previously sentenced to prison two other times.
District Attorney Scott McKee thanked Sheriff Ray Nutt and Gun Barrel City Chief Damon Boswell for their department’s work in the investigation. “For every gram of methamphetamine we remove from the streets, our children and our communities are a little safer,” said McKee.