Florida man arrested in Gregg County with 90 lbs of marijuana candies sentenced to 12 years
LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - A man arrested in Gregg County in 2019 has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 12 years for possession of marijuana and a controlled substance.
Klaus Henry Williams, 40, of Malabar, FL, was arrested by DPS on I-20 in January of 2019 after troopers found about 200 lbs of marijuana and 90 lbs of marijuana candies during a traffic stop, according to the arrest affidavit. Williams was charged with possession of more than 50 pounds of marijuana and possession of more than 400 grams of a controlled substance. A second man, Marvin Ralston Wynter, 50, of Port Saint Lucie, FL, was also in the vehicle and faces the same charges.
On Tuesday, Williams entered open guilty pleas to both charges in Judge Alfonso Charles’ court.
Williams took the stand to testify, and said he and Wynter were passing through Texas, traveling from Oregon to Florida. He said he knew there were drugs in the vehicle, but he didn’t know the quantity. He said he has been flying in from Florida for his court hearings, and has had made all required appearances. He claimed not to be involved in the drug business and asked for probation.
The prosecution pointed out various previous charges against Williams and confronted him about pictures of drugs and money on his phone. The defense said Williams is not disputing the pictures exist but claims they are old, either from before he quit using drugs over 10 years ago or from his cousin who has a medical card and works “at a weed farm” in California. Williams said he is a car hauler, not a drug dealer.
The judge asked about the vehicle in the case, and Williams said it was a company truck, that he didn’t know it had the extra tank where drugs were found. The defense said Williams was only a hired driver and closed with an argument about how drug laws differ between states.
The prosecution closed by saying the amount of drugs Williams was found with is illegal in any state, including Texas.
Judge Charles said while delivering the sentence that the laws in Texas have not changed, that the drugs were packaged in such a way as to avoid detection and that there are mules in the drug trade. He claimed the story Williams told on the stand differs from what he told troopers, and that he does not see Williams accepting responsibility.
Williams was sentenced to 12 years for the controlled substance charge and 8 years for the marijuana charge, to be served concurrently.
Wynter has a status hearing scheduled for June 7.
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