GALVESTON – On June 26, 2018, a Galveston County judge sentenced Marsha Lynn Daffern to 5 years in prison for the felony offense of Possession of a Controlled Substance. The Second Degree Felony charge carries a range of minimum 2 years in prison and a maximum 20 years. The defendant pled guilty on May 24, 2017 and elected to have the judge of the 56^th District Court decide punishment.

 On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, a punishment hearing was held in the 56^th District Court to determine the defendant’s punishment for the offense. During the punishment hearing Sergeant Cooley, of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, testified that on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, he conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that made an illegal lane change in an intersection. The judge learned that the defendant admitted to possessing drug paraphernalia and prescription pills without a prescription. During a search of the defendant’s vehicle, Sergeant Cooley testified that he located a package of syringes, a glass pipe, and three blank checks that did not belong to the defendant. The judge then learned that Sergeant Cooley also located three envelopes which contained a crystal substance. The controlled substance inside the envelopes was sent to the Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Houston for analysis. The laboratory reported that the substance seized contained methamphetamine and weighed 11.07 grams.

At the hearing a videotaped confession of the defendant was played where the defendant admitted that she had knowledge of the methamphetamine in her vehicle, and that she was in the process of delivering the methamphetamine to another location in the county.

The judge learned that the defendant was on deferred probation out of Harris County, in 2011, for a 3^rd degree felony charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance when she was arrested by Sergeant Cooley. The prosecutors presented evidence that the defendant’s probation had been modified 4 times before being revoked in early 2017. The prosecutor argued that despite being probation eligible, the defendant’s unsuccessful attempt to complete probation in Harris County showed that she was not a good candidate for probation in this case and should receive a prison sentence. At the conclusion of the hearing the judge sentenced Daffern to 5 years in prison. Daffern will be required to serve one quarter of her sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Daffern was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Overhouse in the 56^th District Court, with Judge Lonnie Cox presiding. The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office for their excellent work in investigating this case.

Ross Hill

Assistant Criminal District Attorney