TYLER, TEXAS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)), published as received.
TYLER, Texas – An Athens, Texas man was sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.
Matthew Don Herrington, 49, pleaded guilty on Dec. 12, 2020, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison on June 16, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle.
“Drug dealers who pump poison into our communities will face certain and severe consequences,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Our office will continue to partner with federal, state, and local agencies to ensure our communities are safe and to bring to justice those who spread the misery of methamphetamine.”
According to documents and information presented in court, Herrington was arrested on Oct. 22, 2019 by Rusk County Sheriff’s Deputies with a quantity of methamphetamine that he intended to distribute to others, along with a firearm. In March 2020, Rusk County Deputies learned that Herrington was still engaged in methamphetamine trafficking. On March 25, 2020, Deputies executed a search warrant of Herrington’s home and recovered a distributable quantity of methamphetamine and another firearm. Herrington is prohibited from possessing firearms because of multiple prior felony convictions, including a 2009 federal conviction for distribution of methamphetamine, for which he received 70 months in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker.
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