MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS FOR METH POSSESSION CHARGE

A 19-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for being
caught by Tyler police with methamphetamine in his pockets.

A Smith County jury found Michael Everrett Castle guilty of the
second-degree felony of possessing 4.39 grams of the drug after just six
minutes of deliberation. The jury then sentenced him to the maximum
sentence after less than an hour of deliberation.

During the one-day trial, Tyler police officers Craig Shine and Philip
Johnson testified that on May 21 they reported to a disturbance call at
Sherwood Apart-ments, where Castle was a visitor. The officers received
consent to search from the man renting the apartment.

Castle appeared nervous and was visibly shaken. When asked if he possessed
anything illegal he reportedly said he had speed. The officers found six
small bags of meth in his pocket, they testified.

Assistant District Attorney Joe Murphy, who prosecuted the case with Jason
Parrish, said the man has been breaking the law since he was 16.

Castle, of Whitehouse, has five prior convictions including three
misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession, a misdemeanor criminal
trespass and a robbery conviction that would have been a second-degree
felony had he not been a juvenile when he committed the offense.

Castle's parents testified that their son was addicted to drugs and they
had wanted to help him but couldn't get him into rehabilitation because of
the cost.

His mother, Penny Castle, said her son was a great baseball and football
player in high school but got into the wrong crowd and became addicted to
drugs.

His father, Cecil Castle, agreed that his son's addiction ruined his life.
He said after his arrest in May, his son admitted that he had a drug
problem and asked for help.

Defense attorney Clifton Roberson said the 19-year-old didn't ask for help
before because he was addicted to meth, which takes over a person's mindset.

He said his client was probation eligible because he had no prior felony
convictions and asked the jury to give Castle a chance to put his family
back together.

Murphy told the jury that the defendant had plenty of opportunities to
change his life. He said Castle would receive better help with his drug
problem in the penitentiary.

"Since he was 16 years old he's been an outlaw," he said. "He belongs in
the pen. If he wants to change his behavior he can do it in there."

Anything less than 15 to 20 years in prison would not be justice, he said.