CALDWELL MAN SENTENCED TO 45 YEARS IN PRISON
A Caldwell man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for selling meth. Charles David Clark, 46 of Caldwell, was convicted by a Burleson County jury Wednesday afternoon for Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Clark elected to have the Court assess punishment. Late Thursday afternoon, Visiting Judge J.D. Langley, sentenced Clark to 45 years in prison.
As charged, the offense is a state jail felony carrying a punishment range of 6 months to 2 years in a state jail facility. However, Clark has an extensive criminal history going back to 1994 which includes multiple convictions and incarcerations for drug delivery and drug possession, as well as convictions for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Due to his record, Clark’s punishment range was enhanced to Habitual Offender Status, 25-99 years, or life, in prison.
Clark sold less than 1 gram of methamphetamine to a confidential informant who was equipped with discreet audio/visual recording devices by the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office. The recording was played for the jury, and in the background, young children could be heard talking. Evidence was presented that Clark was using children, both his and other people’s, some as young as 5 years old, to package the methamphetamine. The jury also heard evidence that Clark was receiving and distributing up to 7 ounces per week, and was one of the biggest methamphetamine dealers in Caldwell.
District Attorney Julie Renken commented after the sentence was announced, “We will continue to prosecute drug dealers to the fullest extent. I made that promise and will continue to uphold it.” “Thanks to the hard work by the Sheriff’s Office,” she continued, “we were able to make sure that Charles Clark will not be pushing meth in this community for a long time.”
Full Press Release from the District Attorneys Office:
Charles David Clark, 46, of Caldwell, was convicted by a Burleson County jury Wednesday afternoon for Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance PG1 Less Than 1 Gram. Clark elected to have the Court assess punishment. Late Thursday afternoon, Visiting Judge J.D. Langley, sentenced Clark to 45 years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Joan Scroggins and First Assistant District Attorney Adam Muery represented the State, and Dan Jones of Bryan represented the Defendant.
Clark was indicted on June 21, 2017, after investigators with the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office were able to purchase methamphetamine from him, using a confidential informant. Clark sold less than 1 gram of methamphetamine to a confidential informant who was equipped with discreet audio/visual recording devices so that the entire transaction was recorded. The recording was played for the jury, and in the background, young children could be heard talking to the CI during the transaction. Evidence was presented that Clark was using children, both his and other people’s, some as young as 5 years old, to package the methamphetamine. The jury also heard evidence that Clark was receiving and distributing up to 7 ounces (196 grams) per week, and was one of the biggest methamphetamine dealers in Caldwell.
As charged, the offense is a state jail felony carrying a punishment range of 6 months to 2 years in a state jail facility. However, Clark has an extensive criminal history going back to 1994 which includes multiple convictions and incarcerations for drug delivery and drug possession, as well as convictions for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Due to his record, Clark’s punishment range was enhanced to Habitual Offender Status, 25-99 years, or life, in prison.
Muery delivered the closing argument for the State and addressed the defense plea for mercy and a lower sentence by pointing out the criminal history, and highlighting the damage methamphetamine does to the community. “He directly exposed children to this poison. His is not a victimless crime as so many would have you believe.” Later, Muery explained, “Meth is a plague on the rural communities. People are losing money, jobs, relationships, and even their children because of the addiction. Where there is meth, there is increased family violence, thefts, burglaries, robberies, and so on. People often forget about the collateral damage of methamphetamine usage.”
District Attorney Julie Renken commented after the sentence was announced, “We will continue to prosecute drug dealers to the fullest extent. I made that promise and will continue to uphold it.” “Thanks to the hard work by the Sheriff’s Office,” she continued, “we were able to make sure that Charles Clark will not be pushing meth in this community for a long time. We hope these innocent children have no long-term damage from his actions.”
I will agree with you humanityandhope that addiction is a vicous cycle. However, this particular person was quite a bit more than an addict. Assault with a deadly weapon and having children working in the family business packaging meth upped the ante. There are treatment programs that help get one sober. There are job training programs to help one attain the skills necessary for a trade of their choice. If we continually offer only excuses and sympathy, blame everything except the person’s lifestyle choice, nothing will change. I have a family member that is very close to me that is fighting their way to a sober life. I love this person very much and it hurts to see them go through it, but if they aren’t willing to change, nothing will change. I will pray for Mr. Clark and I hope he will find his way to sobriety. God bless.
It’s so easy to judge yet difficult to understand. Obviously putting an addict in jail only repeats the pattern when released.Why? Because jail is for punishment.It isn’t treating the disease. It’s simply reaffirming a mentally ill life.
Only to then be released and feeling a sense of hope to a fresh start,they find it almost virtually impossible to find a job that will hire addicts/criminals/whatever else they’re labeled as. And no,flipping burgers will NOT pay the mortgage,utilities,and daily living essentials.So once more the hopelessness sets in,not only triggering their addiction,but falling into the same criminal cycle JUST TO SURVIVE. We pay billions of dollars each year to correctional facilites, only to increase the revenue with more prisoners. Turn the facilities into rehabilitation,therapy,and a real opportunity for change and see how many repeats you get from that.
This article says nothing about him being a meth user, only a seller. A person cannot be addicted to selling meth – rehabilitation won’t fix that. He has spent most of his life getting other people addicted to meth by selling them poison. Prison is the only place he should be.
He was selling meth. Nowhere in this column does it state that Mr. Clark was consuming meth. He was sent to prison for selling it. Sure the criminal cycle is a vicious cycle, but when your criminal history is so lengthy that the lowest level felony is upgraded to a habitual offender range, the whole pitty the addict argument begins to sound a bit dull. Sure America could benefit from reconsidering the current drug laws, but this individual wasn’t charged with selling some weed, he was slinging meth around. Burleson County is probably the most renowned county in the entire Brazos Valley for being crippled by a methamphetamine problem. If he wanted pity, maybe he shoulda been slinging in Houston with the big boy drug criminals.
Who says he’s an addict. Looks like he was a large scale dealer just feeding who knows how many other addicts. He SHOULD be punished, if for nothing else the damage he probably did to the children exposing them to this poison.
Given that he’s been to prison at least twice and is still at it, a future in the workforce seems unlikely. If he’s never availed himself of the training and rehabilitative services of TDC, this can be yet another chance for him.
Maybe with one less dealer in Burleson County, hope will have a little better chance for those who are willing to try.