DRUG MATERIALS MAY RESULT IN LENGTHY PRISON SENTENCE

A Vivian man could get life in prison as a habitual offender following his
most recent conviction of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine.

Caddo Assistant District Attorney Eugene Bryson plans to file a bill of
information Thursday charging Gary Ray Walker with being a felony habitual
offender. A date will be set for a multi-offender hearing. Walker has at
least one prior conviction and several other possibles.

A Caddo District Court jury took only 30 minutes to convict Walker, 55,
last month before Judge Charles R. Scott.

Caddo sheriff's deputies Glen Cornell and Theresa Bermudez arrested Walker
May 27, 2000, after a loss prevention specialist at a local store noticed
Walker buying numerous packages of antihistamine, an item used to make
methamphetamine, Bryson said.

Walker had apparently been to several different stores to spread out his
purchases, Bryson said. Items used to make methamphetamine were in plain
view in Walker's vehicle, Bryson said.

All those items convinced the jury that Walker had specific intent to
produce methamphetamine, Bryson said. It's the jury's decision to determine
when an attempt becomes more than just preparation to commit a crime,
Bryson said.

It was the first time in Caddo Parish that a coordinated effort between law
enforcement and store owners led to the arrest and conviction of a
potential methamphetamine cook, Bryson said.