Another Drug Dealer Convicted in Palo Pinto County
County DA Releases Details of Recent Trial that Puts Meth Dealer Away for 99 Years
PRESS RELEASE May 7, 2023
A jury trial was held in the 29th District Court of Palo Pinto County during the week of May 1, 2023. A jury of six men and six women was selected to hear evidence regarding a charge against Simpson Thompson for Delivery of a Controlled Substance in a Drug Free Zone.
In October of 2021, investigators assigned to the City County Narcotics Unit (CCNU) received information that Simpson Thompson was dealing methamphetamine out of a room at the Super 8 Motel, located at 108 FM 1821 North in Mineral Wells. That motel property is directly adjacent to the property of the Mineral Wells High School. Investigators utilized a confidential informant to make three separate purchases of methamphetamine from Thompson on October 19, 20, and 21, 2021. These buys were all documented by audio/video recordings. After the third transaction on October 21st, investigators obtained a search warrant for Thompson’s motel room at the Super 8. Upon executing the search warrant, the officers found Thompson to be in possession of methamphetamine in an amount of one gram or more but less than four grams. Thompson was arrested that night for that possession charge in a drug free zone. He was later indicted by a Palo Pinto grand jury for the three delivery charges, which were all in a drug free zone. The trial was held on the delivery in a drug free zone charge which occurred on October 19, 2021. After hearing testimony from both the lead investigator on the case and the confidential informant as well as watching the video of Thompson conducting the sale in his hotel room. The jury deliberated and found Thompson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the 3rd degree felony charge.
During the punishment phase of the trial, the jury heard and saw evidence regarding the other three drug offenses committed by Thompson. They also heard evidence of Thompson’s previous criminal convictions, including two felony enhancement paragraphs to which Thompson pled true. Those felony enhancements put Thompson’s punishment in the habitual offender range of 25-99 years or Life in prison.
The evidence presented showed that Thompson’s first felony convictions occurred in 1983 and his criminal conduct continued through 2021. Thompson has previous convictions for offenses including Aggravated Assault, Burglary of a Building twice, Forgery, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon (twice).
After hearing all the evidence presented during punishment, including testimony from Thompson, the jury deliberated on punishment and returned a sentence of 99 years in prison.
District Attorney Kriste Burnett, who tried the case along with Assistant District Attorney Kason Mobley, expressed her gratitude to the jury for their service that week.
“Without the willingness of citizens in our county to respond to their jury summons and to give both sides a fair trial by listening to all the evidence and returning a verdict based on the evidence, our criminal justice system in this country would not be able to function. Our office is also grateful that both our county and city governments continue to fund the City County Narcotics Unit, so that we have dedicated officers to address problems such as individuals who sell drugs on the border of school property. During 2021, CCNU investigators learned of several individuals who were selling methamphetamine out of rooms at the Super 8 Motel. Each time they learned of the problem, they worked to build solid cases against those drug dealers so that they could be effectively prosecuted. I have made a promise to the citizens of Palo Pinto County that I will not offer plea bargains of probated sentences to drug dealers, especially those who sell that poison in drug free zones near schools and playgrounds. I have upheld my promise, and each of those cases out of the Super 8 Motel have either pled guilty to accept a prison sentence or been sentenced to prison by a jury.”
Palo Pinto County District Attorney Kriste Burnett
Burnett also noted that the law applicable to sentences on drug free zone offenses provides that Thompson will have to serve five straight years on his sentence without earning any good conduct time before he will be eligible for parole.
